Obama administration denies that letter was sent to Iran's supreme leader
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is denying that the president sent a letter to the supreme leader of Iran, calling for direct talks...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is denying that the president sent a letter to the supreme leader of Iran, calling for direct talks.
An administration official says the U.S. is instead communicating its views to Iran by way of other diplomatic messages — but he wouldn’t go into details.
An Iranian lawmaker had claimed today that President Barack Obama had sent the letter — and that it also warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency quotes the conservative lawmaker as saying that the letter described the Strait as a “red line” that Iran shouldn’t cross.
Iran has threatened to close the Strait because of new sanctions over its nuclear program.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Minister confirmed that Tehran had received the letter, and that the government was considering a response.
The report comes days after the Obama administration said it was warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
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