Trump’s letter to be delivered through Arab country, says Iran FM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump’s letter to Iran seeking nuclear negotiations will be delivered through an Arab country.

“Trump's letter has been written but has not yet reached us, and it is supposed to reach us through an Arab country,” Abbas Araghchi said on the sidelines of a government meeting, as cited by state IRNA news agency.

Trump on Friday said he sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a bid to open nuclear negotiations. “If we have to go in militarily it’s going to be a terrible thing for them,” he told Fox Business in an interview.

Araghchi revealed that Iran has not yet received any letters and called a closed United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday “strange.”

The UN Security Council will hold a closed meeting on Wednesday at the request of several countries, including France, Britain, and the US, to discuss Iran’s increased production of highly-enriched uranium.

“A closed-door meeting at the UN Security Council has been requested by some countries, which is a completely new and strange procedure, and from our perspective, it is surprising and seriously calls into question the goodwill of the countries that requested this meeting,” Araghchi stated.

He reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is advancing in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regulations.
Under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for much-needed relief from crippling sanctions.

But the deal began unraveling in 2018 when Trump, during his first term, unilaterally withdrew from the accord and imposed biting sanctions on the Islamic republic, which in turn began escalating its nuclear enrichment efforts.

Soon after returning to power this year, Trump restored his “maximum pressure” policy that authorized sanctions with the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or expanding its missile program, warning that Tehran is “too close” to a nuclear weapon.

Trump has said that he would be open to making a new nuclear deal with Tehran, but in February, Khamenei said it would be “unwise” to negotiate with the US.