US cancels 83% of USAID programs under Trump's America First policy

Esmail Baghaei, the ministry's spokesperson, responded to a reporter’s question during his weekly briefing on Monday, saying, “I will answer your long question with a short response: No letter has been received.”

President Trump revealed on Friday that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, offering negotiations while warning of military consequences if talks failed. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Trump said, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or through a deal. I would prefer to make a deal.”

The next day, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in a speech, made no mention of a letter from Trump but declared that the Islamic Republic would not negotiate with "bullying" powers. Iranian Media and observers interpreted this as an indirect response to Trump's demand for talks.

Trump’s explicit threat—both in his public statements and the reported letter—that the United States might consider military action if Tehran refuses genuine negotiations has put Khamenei under pressure to deliver a clear response. Whether the denial of receiving a letter is intended to delay such a response remains uncertain.

It is also possible that Trump sent a message rather than a formal letter, using intermediaries such as Russia or Qatar. This could allow Tehran to deny having received a letter and avoid the pressure to publicly respond.

Abbas Golroo, a member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told Borna News Agency in Tehran on Monday that he had no precise information on Trump’s letter and suggested that what was being referred to as a letter was likely a message.

It is entirely possible that Trump sent a message in some form and that Iran may have already responded through indirect channels or intends to do so, while maintaining the pretense that no letter was involved.

In any case, the foreign ministry spokesperson condemned Trump's threats of keeping a military option on the table. “Various Iranian officials have spoken on this matter. The threat of using force is a criminal act under international law,” Baghaei said.

Iran, under intense economic pressure and a weakened regional position, also sees Trump’s maximum sanctions policy as a coercive tactic. Last month, when Trump reaffirmed his maximum pressure strategy, Tehran similarly rejected negotiations, citing its refusal to engage in talks under duress.

Tehran has long sought sanctions relief as a condition for engaging in talks. During the Biden administration, when indirect negotiations lasted more than a year, Washington informally eased enforcement, leading to a significant surge in Iran’s oil exports and nearly $100 billion in additional revenue.

The Security Belt-2025 drills, taking place annually near the Iranian southeastern port of Chabahar, in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, mark the fifth such exercise between the three nations since 2019, showcasing their deepening military ties amidst geopolitical tensions.

Asked on Sunday if the drills concerned him, Trump told Fox News, “No. Not at all. We’re stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them. I rebuilt the military.”

The exercises involve warships and support vessels from the Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, alongside Russian and Chinese naval forces. Observers from Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka are also present.

Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed the participation of 15 combat ships, support vessels, and gunboats, as well as helicopters. China deployed a guided-missile destroyer and a supply ship.

The drills will include simulated attacks on maritime targets, search and seizure operations, and search and rescue exercises.

The location of the drills, the Gulf of Oman, is a critical waterway for global oil trade, linking the Indian Ocean to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

This year's exercises come at a time of heightened tensions in the region, with Trump recently reiterating his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, aimed at curbing its nuclear program.

The US maintains a significant military presence in the region, with its Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.

Iranian officials and media have threaded carefully on the issue of a letter that President Donald Trump says he sent to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei urging talks. Tehran has not even officially acknowledged or denied the receipt of a letter, but Khamenei in a speech on Saturday rejected negotiations. No one from within the ruling circles is expected to disagree with the Supreme Leader.

“Regarding the US president’s claim about negotiations with Iran, it must be said that his behavior toward other countries clearly shows that these statements are merely a deceptive display of "negotiation" aimed at forcing Iran into disarmament—something he has already endorsed in the US policy document,” Qalibaf said, clearly repeating Khamenei’s main line of argument from the day before.

He also repeated Tehran’s rhetoric since early February that negotiating under pressure of Trump’s renewed “maximum pressure” would be “dishonorable” for Iran.

“It is obvious that no negotiation conducted under the shadow of threats and with the agenda of imposing new concessions in exchange for lifting sanctions will lead to any real outcome, except the humiliation of the proud Iranian nation,” Qalibaf told the parliament.

On Sunday, ISNA, a state-controlled news agency, ran a lead article emphasizing the need for domestic unity in the face of Trump's threats and demands for negotiations. To reinforce its message about the urgency of speaking with one voice, the agency quoted President Masoud Pezeshkian. “Unity and cohesion are the first and last word. If we are divided, we will not be able to achieve our goals. We must join hands… We are capable of overcoming all challenges.”

Since Donald Trump's election and growing expectations in Iran that he would increase pressure, a debate has emerged over the need to resolve differences with the United States to lift sanctions and rescue Iran’s crippled economy. However, for the second time in a month, Khamenei has made it clear that he will not allow negotiations—at least as long as Trump maintains his maximum pressure policy.

However, claims by Qalibaf, Pezeshkian, and others that Iran will resist Trump’s demands and rely on its own capabilities seem more like an attempt to present an alternative to Khamenei’s rejection of talks rather than a viable strategy to escape the economic crisis. Meanwhile, Trump has openly threatened military action if Tehran refuses negotiations—a scenario in which it remains unclear whether the Islamic Republic has sufficient defensive capabilities.

"The insistence of some bullying governments on negotiations is not aimed at resolving issues but rather at asserting dominance and imposing their demands," Khamenei said in a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly not accept their demands," he added.

His comments followed Trump’s revelation that he had sent Khamenei a letter offering negotiations on Iran's nuclear program while warning that military intervention was the alternative.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday Tehran has not yet received Trump's letter to Khamenei.

Responding to Khamenei's rejection of Trump's call to negotiate a nuclear agreement, the White House on Saturday reiterated the US president's assertion that Tehran can be dealt with either militarily or by making a deal.

"We hope the Iran regime puts its people and best interests ahead of terror," White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement.

Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen reported Saturday Tehran had refused to enter nuclear negotiations with the United States under the conditions set by the current US administration.

No talks on missile capabilities, regional influence

Khamenei said the West's issue is not just Tehran's nuclear program. "Rather, for them, negotiations are a means to raise new demands, including restrictions on defense capabilities and international influence."

"They set expectations such as 'Do not do this,' 'Do not meet with that person,' or 'Do not extend missile range beyond a certain limit.' These demands will certainly not be accepted or fulfilled by Iran."

While Tehran maintains that its ballistic missile program is purely defensive, the West considers it a destabilizing factor in a volatile, conflict-ridden Middle East.

'Shameless Europeans'

In his Saturday remarks, Khamenei also lashed out at European countries for criticizing Tehran's non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, calling them shameless.

"Those three European countries are issuing statements, claiming that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone should ask them: Have you fulfilled yours? You never did from the very beginning!"

Khamenei said the E3 (France, Britain and Germany) promised to compensate after Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the nuclear deal in 2018, but they broke their promise.

"Then you made another claim and broke that second promise as well. There should be a limit to shamelessness! How can someone fail to uphold their own commitments and then turn around and accuse the other side of non-compliance?"

Iran's Supreme Leader said the Rouhani administration at the time tolerated for a year, then the Parliament stepped in and passed a bill that effectively blocked the revival of the deal.

"There was no other way. And now, the same holds true: There is no other way to stand against coercion and bullying," he added.

Holocaust denial

Khamenei further criticized what he called the Western double standards on the free flow of information, saying that no one can mention slain IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, or Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, "protest the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon, or deny what Hitler is claimed to have done to the Jews on Western-run social media."

The leaders of the Islamic Republic have a long history of Holocaust denial and Holocaust revisionism.

Iran's former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a number of statements claiming The Holocaust as is commonly accepted is "a myth" and "a lie".

Former President Ebrahim Raisi also cast doubt on whether the Holocaust happened in a 2022 interview with CBS News.

On January 20, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution that condemned the denial and distortion of the Holocaust. Iran was the only country in the world that condemned and rejected the resolution.

Although the report was published a day after President Donald Trump announced he had sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it makes no mention of the message.

The outlet cited an unnamed high-ranking Iranian diplomatic source who said that during his visit to Tehran last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed Moscow’s willingness to facilitate nuclear negotiations with Washington through diplomatic channels.

Tehran told Lavrov that it would never engage in talks with Washington under the conditions imposed by the Trump administration.

President Trump revealed on Friday that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, offering negotiations while warning of military consequences if talks failed. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Trump said, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or through a deal. I would prefer to make a deal.”

Iran swiftly dismissed the letter, with an official outlet of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) calling it a psychological operation. Iran’s UN mission in New York also denied receiving any such communication.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov met with Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali to discuss international efforts to resolve issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.

According to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, later confirmed by the Kremlin, Russia has agreed to assist the US in communicating with Iran on various matters, including its nuclear program and support for regional anti-US proxies.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations" and that Moscow "is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this." The report was subsequently picked up by Russian state media.

Last month, prior to Russia's official offer of mediation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, where both sides reportedly "aligned their positions" on the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that unraveled following the US withdrawal in 2018.