President Masoud Pezeshkian says the United States has received Iran’s response to a letter from President Donald Trump via Oman, adding that it is Washington’s behavior that determines the course of negotiations.
President Pezeshkian made the remarks on Sunday during a cabinet session in Tehran.
He said that Iran, in its response to Trump’s letter, rejected direct talks with the US, but emphasized that it is open to indirect negotiations.
“In this response, the issue of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected. But it has been mentioned that the path of indirect negotiations is open,” said Pezeshkian.
US President Trump announced on March 7 that he had sent a letter to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamanei. Since returning to the White House earlier this year, Trump has been speaking of a new deal with Iran over its nuclear energy program, and at the same time, restored his “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian nation, which he first launched in 2018 when he withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
President Pezeshkian told the Sunday cabinet meeting that Iran, in its response, said that it has never avoided talks, and that trust needs to be rebuilt.
“It has been emphasized that Iran has never avoided negotiations, and incompliance has created problems in this path, which should be compensated for, and trust should be rebuilt. It is the behavior of the Americans that determines the course of negotiations,” he said.
Further in his remarks, Pezeshkian referred to the ongoing attacks by the Israeli regime in Gaza, which were resumed earlier this month despite a ceasefire being in place.
It is totally unacceptable that they drop bombs on innocent people despite the ceasefire, he said, describing it as an “inhumane behavior.”
Pezeshkian expressed hope that Muslim nations can resist such behaviors through unity and cohesion.
The president also expressed gratitude to the Iranian people for their huge turnout in International Quds Day rallies which were held across the country this past Friday in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian nation.