Iran Rejects Direct Talks With U.S. Over Nuclear Program

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Sunday that Tehran had rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Pezeshkian confirmed that while direct talks were dismissed, Iran remains open to indirect negotiations. However, it is unclear whether Trump would be willing to engage in such discussions, as past indirect talks since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 have been unsuccessful.

Trump’s outreach comes amid growing tensions, with both Israel and the U.S. vowing to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Tehran continues enriching uranium at near weapons-grade levels, a threshold typically associated with nuclear-armed states.

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but officials have increasingly hinted at the possibility of pursuing nuclear weapons as tensions escalate over U.S. sanctions and the ongoing war in Gaza.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, his administration has maintained that Iran must be prevented from developing nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, a February report from the UN’s nuclear watchdog revealed that Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium, further fueling concerns over a potential military confrontation.