Iranian leader says he won’t accept demands by “bully countries” after Trump claim

Axios-March9th2025

Barak Ravid

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that his country will not accept the demands of “bullying countries”.

Why it matters: Khamenei’s comment seemed to refer to President Trump’s claim he sent a letter to the Iranian leader about a possible nuclear deal.

• Khamenei didn’t mention Trump by name and didn’t confirm he received a letter from the U.S. president.

What they are saying: “Some bullying countries insist on talks not to resolve issues but to impose their demands…we will certainly not accept their demands”, the Iranian leader said in a meeting with senior officials.

• Khamenei said Iran will not accept demands to cap Iran’s defensive capabilities by limiting the production of weapons or its missiles’ range.
• He also said Iran won’t agree to demands to cut ties with other groups in the region.

Driving the news: President Trump said an interview with Fox Business Maria Bartiromo that will air in full on Sunday that he sent a letter on Wednesday to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and stressed that he wants to reach a deal on the country’s nuclear program.

• The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the coming days “will be interesting” when it comes to Iran.

• “We are down to final strokes with Iran. We are down to the final moments. We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon. Something is going to happen very soon. I would rather have a peace deal than the other option but the other option will solve the problem,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional statement

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