Iran responds to Trump's letter, voices readiness for indirect talks

Dubai: Iran has sent a response through Oman to US. President Donald Trump's letter in which he urged Tehran to reach a new nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was cited as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Thursday.

"Our policy is still to not engage in direct negotiations while under maximum pressure and military threats, however, as it was the case in the past, indirect negotiations can continue", IRNA cited Araqchi as saying.

Earlier on Thursday, Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, said that Tehran has not closed all doors to resolve its disputes with the United States and is ready for indirect negotiations with Washington.

Tehran has so far rebuffed Trump's warning to make a deal or face military consequences. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the message deceptive and Araqchi said talks are impossible unless Washington changes its "maximum pressure" policy.

"The Islamic Republic has not closed all doors. It is ready for indirect negotiations with the United States in order to evaluate the other party, state its own conditions and make the appropriate decision," Kharrazi said, according to state media.

"Our response includes a letter in which we detailed our views on the current situation and Mr. Trump's letter", Araqchi said on Thursday.

In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

After Trump pulled out in 2018 and reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions, the Islamic Republic breached and has since far surpassed those limits in its escalating programme of uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having an clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy programme.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes.