ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran said on Sunday that it will respond to US President Donald Trump’s letter regarding the resumption of nuclear negotiations “after the review process is completed.” “We currently have no plans to publicly release this message. What has been published in the media is mostly speculation, and the content of the letter is not far from the public statements of the US President. Our response to this correspondence will be provided through the appropriate channels after the review process is completed,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in a presser, as cited by the state IRNA news agency. On March 7, Trump 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. But Khamenei on Wednesday diverged hope from talks with Washington, saying they would not lead to sanctions relief and could further exacerbate the situation, and Trump’s letter was solely for influencing public opinion. The US on Thursday introduced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil minister and its trade with China - sanctions condemned by Tehran as a “blatant violation of the fundamental principles and rules of international law and free trade.” 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.
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