Bezjikian Says Khamenei Has Agreed to 'Indirect Negotiations' with the U.S.

Masoud Bejikian explained the content of the Islamic Republic Leader's response to the U.S. President's letter, stating that Iran has 'never shied away from negotiations, and it is only the broken promises that have caused problems in this path that need to be compensated and trust rebuilt.' It seems that the Iranian President's reference is to Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA during his first term. On Sunday, April 10, he announced in a cabinet meeting that Ali Khamenei opposed direct negotiations with the U.S. but is in favor of indirect negotiations with the Trump administration. Bejikian mentioned that Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister, delivered the Islamic Republic Leader's 'response' to Donald Trump's letter to Oman, which has 'reached the American intermediary.' Bejikian explained that now 'the behavior of the Americans will determine the continuation of the negotiation process.' His explanation about the response to Trump's letter comes after the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday in a statement regarding inquiries about the content of Iran's response: 'Insisting on making current correspondence and interactions between countries public... at best is nothing but unnecessary marginalization and psychological agitation in society.' The Iranian President, along with several other officials of the Islamic Republic, emphasized that 'in this response, although the issue of direct negotiations between the two sides is rejected, it has been stated that the path for indirect negotiations is open.' Before him, on Sunday, the government spokesman and earlier Abbas Araqchi, the foreign minister, had repeatedly emphasized the indirect nature of negotiations with the U.S. This repeated emphasis by Islamic Republic officials on the 'indirectness' of negotiations comes after Ali Khamenei stated the day after Trump announced that he had sent a letter to him that Iran would not negotiate with 'bullying governments.' An American official and two sources familiar with the content of the U.S. President's letter told Axios on March 20 that Trump had given Tehran a two-month deadline in this letter to reach a new nuclear agreement with Washington. Steve Wittecuff, the U.S. President's special representative for Middle Eastern affairs, emphasized on April 1 that Donald Trump is trying to prevent military conflict with Iran through 'confidence-building,' and Iran is also in contact with the U.S. through 'intermediaries.' According to Wittecuff, the U.S. President also emphasized in his message to the Islamic Republic that a verification program must be established 'so that no one is worried about the militarization of your nuclear materials, as the alternative solution [military action] is not a very good substitute.' Iran and six world powers reached the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA in July 2015, and Trump, who has always been critical of the terms of this agreement, announced the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in May 2018. Iran denies efforts to acquire nuclear weapons but has deviated from its commitments under this agreement after the U.S. withdrawal and has significantly accelerated uranium enrichment, especially in the past year.