Iran rejects direct negotiations with US after Donald Trump letter

Iran has said it will not enter direct negotiations with US President Donald Trump (Niall Carson/PA)

Iran’s president has rejected direct negotiations with the US over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme, in Tehran’s first response to a letter Donald Trump sent to the country’s supreme leader.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s response, delivered via the sultanate of Oman, left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington, although such talks have made no progress since Mr Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew the US from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.