Iran to respond privately to Trump letter, not revealing details
Tehran will respond privately to US President Donald Trump's letter and will not make public its contents, according to Iran's foreign ministry.
"We currently do not intend to release the contents of Trump's message to the media," said Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei during a press conference on Monday.
Last week, an Emirati official brought a letter from the US president proposing nuclear talks with Tehran, which Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected, saying such a proposal was deception from Washington amid crippling sanctions on Iran.
"Our response to this correspondence will be provided through appropriate channels after the completion of the reviews. What has been published in the media is mostly speculation and lacks a precise basis."
Baghaei noted that the letter's content "is not significantly different from Trump's speeches and is structured based on those elements."
The spokesman described US messages as contradictory signals, noting that while expressing readiness for talks, the US continues to impose sanctions.
He specifically criticized the US for sanctioning Iran's oil minister, whose "only crime is performing his official, legal, and national duties."
"Diplomatic negotiations have etiquette in that each side must recognize the other's interests and, more importantly, believe in fulfilling their commitments," he added during the televised press conference.
"The US does not respect that and uses the possibility of negotiations as a propaganda and political tool."
During his first term, President Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement between Iran and major powers that limited Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Following the 2018 US withdrawal and reimposition of sanctions, Iran exceeded the JCPOA's nuclear activity limits.
Western powers express concern that Iran's uranium enrichment, reaching up to 60% purity, indicates a potential pursuit of nuclear weapons, an allegation Iran denies, asserting its program is for peaceful purposes and compliant with international law.
Baghaei also highlighted recent diplomatic activities, including a trip by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Oman on Sunday, a trilateral meeting in Beijing with Russia and China, and a visit by the Deputy for Legal and International Affairs to Vienna for talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
He stressed that Araghchi's Oman trip was unrelated to Trump's letter and had been scheduled beforehand.
In response to questions about US military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Baghaei condemned the attacks as a crime and a violation of international law.
"The US has unfortunately mistaken the victim for the criminal," he said, calling on the international community to take urgent action.
He also rejected US claims that Iran was behind the Houthi's blockade of commercial shipping in the Red Sea, saying the Yemeni people make their own decisions.
The denials came on the back of claims made on Sunday by Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami who categorically denied US accusations of Iranian control over the Houthis', in spite of the blockade being ordered by Iran's Supreme Leader in allegiance with Iran-backed Hamas amid the Gaza war, back in 2023.
"We have always declared, and we declare today, that the Yemenis are an independent and free nation in their own land and have an independent national policy," Salami said.
"Ansarullah, as the representative of the Yemenis, makes its own strategic decisions, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has no role in setting the national or operational policies of any movement in the resistance front, including Ansarullah in Yemen."