DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� An Emirati diplomat earlier identified by Tehran as carrying a letter from seeking to jump-start talks over Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program met Wednesday with Iran's foreign minister in the Iranian capital.
It is unclear how Iran will react to the letter, which Trump revealed during a television interview last week. Its intended recipient, , has said he's not interested in talks with a 鈥渂ullying government.鈥�
But Iran struggles with economic woes exacerbated by U.S. and Western sanctions over its nuclear program, and Trump has imposed more since he took office in January. That pressure, coupled with internal turmoil in Iran and recent direct attacks by Israel, has put Tehran in one of the most precarious positions its theocracy has faced since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
鈥淎merica threatens with military action, but in my opinion, this threat is irrational,鈥� Khamenei said earlier Wednesday. 鈥淚ran is capable of delivering a reciprocal blow, and it will certainly do so.鈥�
A sudden visit by an Emirati diplomat
Iranian state television showed Emirati official Anwar Gargash meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Gargash's visit had not been previously announced. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman earlier said he'd be carrying the letter from Trump. The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, maintains close ties with the United States.
The brief footage shot before the meeting did not show the letter. Gargash and the UAE government did not immediately acknowledge his trip during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Trump last week acknowledged writing a letter to the 85-year-old Khamenei.
鈥淚鈥檝e written them a letter saying, 鈥業 hope you鈥檙e going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it鈥檚 going to be a terrible thing,'鈥� Trump said in the interview.
Trump has offered no details on what, if anything, was specifically offered to Iran in the letter.
The move recalled Trump鈥檚 letter-writing to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term, which led to face-to-face meetings but and a missile program capable of reaching the continental U.S.
The last time Trump tried to send a letter to Khamenei, through the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2019, the supreme leader mocked the effort. Abe ended up slipping the envelope under his leg in footage widely shared by Iranian state media to this day.
On Wednesday before Gargash's arrival, Khamenei spoke to students during a ceremony in Tehran and called Trump's letter "an attempt to deceive global public opinion.鈥�
鈥淭his person tore apart and threw out of the window finished and completed, and signed, talks," Khamenei said. 鈥淗ow could one possibly negotiate with such a person?鈥�
He added: 鈥淚f we wanted to build a nuclear weapon, America couldn鈥檛 stop us.鈥�
Iran's uranium is now close to weapons-grade
Trump鈥檚 overture comes as Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels of 60% purity 鈥� something only done by atomic-armed nations.
Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue the bomb as tensions are high with the U.S. over its sanctions and with Israel as a shaky ceasefire holds in .
Israel and Iran have traded direct attacks during the Israel-Hamas war, while partners in Tehran鈥檚 self-described 鈥淎xis of Resistance鈥� are reeling after the assassinations of their leaders by Israel. In Israel, officials have suggested striking Iran鈥檚 nuclear program now, something Trump has threatened while insisting he鈥檇 prefer reaching a diplomatic deal with Tehran.
Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has said Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. A report last month by of near weapons-grade uranium.
Trump鈥檚 first term in office was marked by a particularly troubled period in relations with Tehran. In 2018, he unilaterally withdrew the United States from Iran鈥檚 nuclear deal with world powers, leading to sanctions hobbling Iran鈥檚 economy. 鈥� including one that it likely carried out and that .
Trump also ordered the attack that in January 2020.
It is unclear how Iran will handle further pressure. The fallen in value. Unemployment and underemployment are rampant. Meanwhile, women have continued their defiance of laws on the mandatory headscarf, or hijab, and go without the head covering, two years after , sparked nationwide protests.
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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat and Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press
