Iran has said that they will carefully consider both the potential opportunities and the threats outlined in a letter from US President Donald Trump, a Reuters report said. The letter was about negotiating a new nuclear deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Thursday said that Iran would respond soon.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had dismissed Trump’s letter last week as deceptive, arguing that Trump’s high demands would only intensify sanctions and put more pressure on Iran. Despite this, Araqchi explained that Tehran is still reviewing the letter and deciding how to reply.
Araqchi said that while the letter seemed more like a threat, it also presented potential opportunities. He added that Tehran would take both the threats and opportunities into account when crafting its response, noting that “there is an opportunity behind every menace.”
What was in Trump’s letter to Iran?
According to a report from Axios on Wednesday, Trump’s letter included a two-month deadline for Iran to reach a nuclear agreement, warning of harsher sanctions if Iran did not comply, as part of his renewed “maximum pressure” campaign. Araqchi confirmed that Iran will respond in the coming days but rejected any direct talks.
In his first term, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers, which had imposed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for relief from sanctions. Following the US withdrawal in 2018 and the reinstatement of sanctions, Iran began exceeding the limits set by the agreement in its nuclear program.
Western nations have accused Iran of attempting to develop nuclear weapons, saying that their uranium is of 60% purity, a level far higher than what they consider necessary for civilian use. Iran however maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and that it upholds its commitments under international law.