CAIRO, April 7. /TASS/. The Iranian government doubts that the US will accept Tehran's proposal to hold indirect talks between the countries on the Iranian nuclear program, the Iraq-based news website Baghdad Today reported.
"We are not sure that Washington will accept the idea of indirect dialogue," a source in Iran's cabinet told the news website.
That’s because US President Donald Trump is "too fond of publicity and seeks to present himself as a dealmaker," according to the person. However, the source suggested that the US leader "could feel better about direct talks if indirect dialogue yielded a result that served his media and political aspirations."
The source warned against underestimating the US president's threats against Tehran.
"Despite Trump's tendency to exaggerate, his threats should not be viewed as mere empty statements," he said.
Some time ago, Iranian officials indicated that they were yet unaware of Washington's reaction to Tehran's response to Trump's recent message to the Iranian leadership. However, officials in Tehran named Oman as possibly the best venue for indirect talks with the US.
On March 7, Trump said he had sent a message to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proposing talks on the nuclear program. While Tehran rejected direct communication with the US, it indicated that discussions through mediators could be a possibility.
On March 30, Trump announced he would impose additional duties on Iran in two weeks if the nuclear talks failed, also threatening unprecedented bombardments of Iran, if it rejected a deal. In response, Khamenei expressed skepticism about the likelihood of US military intervention but warned that any attempts by Washington to incite unrest in Iran would be met with a harsh retaliation.