Iran told Trump it wants peace, won't back down against threats

Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg News on Apr 6, 2025

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Iran warned against any military aggression while reiterating its commitment to regional peace and a civilian nuclear program in its official response to a recent letter by U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior Iranian military official said.

Trump last month told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a letter that his country had two months to reach a new nuclear agreement or face possible military action. In his reply, Khamenei made clear that Iran “won’t start a war, but will respond to any threat with full force,” the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, citing Major-General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces.

“It was established by the supreme leader that we seek peace in the region, and we don’t pursue nuclear weapons in our nuclear program, but rather the needs of our own people,” Bagheri said.

Trump was also told in Khamenei’s message that Iran won’t hold direct talks with his administration, “but indirect talks are acceptable,” Bagheri said. The text of the letter hasn’t been officially published.

The U.S. president said last week he believed the Islamic Republic was open to direct negotiations over its nuclear program, despite Iranians previously rejecting that assumption. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reaffirmed Tehran’s position, saying that direct talks with Washington would be “meaningless,” but that Iran remains “willing to explore the path of indirect negotiations.”

In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from a global agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Since returning to office, he has reintroduced his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, escalating sanctions and warning of possible military action if efforts for a new deal collapse.

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