Iran's supreme leader rejects nuclear talks with US after Trump's overtures
In a series of posts on X, Khamenei called the U.S. government "coercive," claiming negotiations are only a means to impose new demands.
"Such negotiations aren't aimed at solving issues," Khamenei wrote. "Their aim is to exert their dominance and impose what they want."
He added the "demands" relate to the country's defense and international capabilities.
"Telling us not to do this, not to meet that person, not to go there, not to produce this, and to limit the range of our missiles to a certain extend," Khamenei wrote. "How could anyone accept such things?"
Khamenei posted one day after President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Khamenei pushing for a nuclear agreement with Tehran, suggesting there could be military consequences if a deal is not reached.
Trump told reporters Friday the U.S. is "down to the final moments" negotiating with Iran, and he hoped a military intervention would not be necessary.
In a statement Saturday, National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the administration hopes Iran "puts its people and best interests ahead of terror."
"President Trump said it clearly that there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or by making a deal," Hughes wrote.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Iran program, wrote in a statement that Trump should "be careful" in discussions with Tehran.
"Tehran has set a trap for him, hoping to lure him into endless diplomacy that is used to blunt maximum pressure and dampen the credibility of an American or Israeli military option while buying time to creep towards a nuclear weapon," Ben Taleblu wrote in a statement.
While Trump said in February he believed Iran was "close" to developing a nuclear weapon, he noted the U.S. would prevent the action.
He also signed an executive action ordering the Department of Treasury to execute "maximum economic pressure" on Iran through a series of sanctions that would devastate the country's oil exports.
The "maximum pressure" initiative against Tehran, which was enacted during the first Trump administration, issues greater sanctions and harsher enforcement for violations.
The president's comments and Khamenei's subsequent posts came days before Sunday's 18th anniversary of the abduction of retired FBI Special Agent Robert "Bob" Levinson from Kish Island, Iran.
The FBI Washington Field posted Friday on Facebook, saying it "remembers Bob and his family every day" ahead of the anniversary and National Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.
The FBI is still offering up to a $5 million reward for information that leads to Levinson's location, recovery and return, according to the post.
The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return and information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone responsible for his alleged abduction.
"As part of our ongoing efforts to resolve Bob's case and hold the Iranian regime responsible for its role in Bob's disappearance, we recently released seeking information posters featuring Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, two senior Iranian intelligence officers who worked for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security at the time of Bob's abduction," the agency wrote in the post.
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