Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said a letter from US President Donald Trump had been delivered to him via an envoy from the United Arab Emirates.
In a post on his Instagram account, Araghchi stated, “This evening, I hosted Mr. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates. In addition to discussing bilateral relations and regional issues, a letter from the president of the United States was received.”
Earlier in the day, during a cabinet meeting, the top diplomat had noted, “The letter has not reached us yet, but an envoy from an Arab country is supposed to deliver Trump’s letter to Tehran.”
The contents of Trump’s letter, though, remain undisclosed.
Trump himself had previously claimed in an interview with Fox Business that he had sent a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Various Iranian officials, including Araghchi, however, rejected the claim after its issuance by Trump.
On Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei noted that, following Trump’s remarks, a senior White House official had contradicted him by stating that while a letter had been drafted, it had never been sent.
“From the very beginning, some analysts described the claim as a kind of media-psychological game, while others said it was a sign of confusion within the US administration and its bureaucratic system,” he noted.
The official clarified, however, that “no, no letter has been received.”
Baghaei, meanwhile, asserted that the Islamic Republic would categorically reject engaging in negotiation with the United States “under conditions or approaches [that are] based on coercion, bullying, and pressure.”
Also on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said during an address in Tehran that a call by the US president for negotiations with Iran was nothing but an attempt to “deceive the world public opinion” and portray the Islamic Republic as the party not willing to give diplomacy another chance.
Observers say that the inconsistencies among various American officials’ claims highlight the chronic confusion within successive US administrations and their habitual use of media manipulation to create an illusion of diplomacy, while simultaneously tightening illegal and unilateral measures against targeted nations.
They also note that despite the US’s pattern of inconsistent and coercive attitude, Tehran has remained committed to meaningful dialogue with other nations regarding regional and international matters.
Baghaei likewise pointed out during his Monday remarks that the Islamic Republic had never closed the door to negotiations in the true and correct sense of the word, saying the country had continued its discussions with European countries over recent months.
