Donald Trump: Forget the letters; I think Iran wants direct dialogue

The President of the United States says he believes the Islamic Republic of Iran wants direct dialogue with the U.S. and that Tehran feels vulnerable. Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Thursday, April 2, while aboard the presidential aircraft, added, "They (the Iranians) wanted to use intermediaries, which I don’t think is logically correct anymore. I think they are worried and feel vulnerable. And I don’t want them to think that way." When a reporter asked the U.S. President about the content of Iran's response to his letter, he said, "Forget the letters. I think they want direct dialogue." Trump's remarks could be a reaction to statements by Iranian officials, especially Masoud Pezeshkian, the President, and Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister, who stated that Iran has no problem with indirect dialogue with the U.S. regarding its nuclear file. Pezeshkian even mentioned that Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has agreed to such dialogues. Despite Trump’s desire for direct negotiations with Iran to reach a new agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program, Axios reported on April 1, citing American sources, that the U.S. President is seriously considering Iran's proposal for indirect dialogue. On February 6, Trump announced that he had written a letter to Ali Khamenei regarding negotiations for a new nuclear agreement with Iran, and then said, "We have reached the final moments. We cannot allow them to obtain nuclear weapons." Iran claims to have responded to Trump's letter through Oman. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has undertaken a large deployment of forces and equipment around Iran to be prepared in case Trump decides to attack. The U.S. President has threatened that if a new agreement is not reached with Tehran regarding its nuclear program, secondary tariffs will be imposed on it and Iran will be bombed. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, says he does not "expect" a military attack on Iran but that Tehran will give a "strong reciprocal response" to any potential attack. Since the beginning of his second presidential term in January this year, Trump has reinstated the "maximum pressure" policy from his first term against Iran. He withdrew from the nuclear agreement with six world powers known as the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated severe sanctions against Tehran. Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, but Tehran has denied this, stating that its enrichment activities are solely for "peaceful purposes."