Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the U.S. offer for talks as “a deception,” saying negotiating with the Trump administration would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.” File
| Photo Credit: AP
U.S. President Donald Trump’s outreach to Iran’s top authority, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a possible new nuclear deal is an effort to avoid military action, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday (March 23, 2025).
“We don’t need to solve everything militarily,” Mr. Witkoff told Fox News.
“Our signal to Iran is let’s sit down and see if we can, through dialogue, through diplomacy, get to the right place. If we can, we are prepared to do that. And if we can’t, the alternative is not a great alternative,” he said.
Mr. Trump said earlier this month that he had sent a letter to Mr. Khamenei, warning that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal.”
Mr. Khamenei rejected the U.S. offer for talks as “a deception,” saying negotiating with the Trump administration would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran.”
On Sunday (March 23, 2025), Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi added that Iran was not opposed to talks out of “stubbornness”, but rather as a result of history and experience, adding that Washington needs to recalibrate its policy before Tehran takes part in talks.
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Earlier, Mr. Araqchi, said on Thursday (March 20, 2025) that Tehran would soon reply to both the letter’s “threats and opportunities.”
In his first term, Mr. Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that had placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Mr. Trump pulled out in 2018 and restored sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits in the development of its nuclear programme.
“In my opinion, the 2015 pact in its current form cannot be revived. It would not be in our interest because our nuclear situation has advanced significantly and we can no longer return to previous conditions,” Mr. Araqchi said.
“The same can be said of the other side’s sanctions. The 2015 nuclear pact can still be a basis and model for negotiations,” he added.s
Speaking separately on CBS News, the White House’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, said the U.S. sought “full dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program.
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“Iran has to give up its program in a way that the entire world can see,” he said.
“As President Trump has said, this is coming to a head. All options are on the table and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Tehran has long said the program is only for peaceful purposes.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said last month that time is running out for a deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear program as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade.
While leaving the door open for a nuclear pact with Tehran, Mr. Trump has reinstated the “maximum pressure” campaign he applied in his first term as president, including efforts to drive the country’s oil exports to zero.
The U.S. has issued four rounds of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales since Mr. Trump’s return to the White House on January 20, 2025.
Published – March 24, 2025 02:23 am IST