Politics
What to Know About Iran’s Response to Trump’s Letter Urging Talks
Iran announced on Thursday it had responded to a letter from President Trump in which the American president had urged direct negotiations with the government in Tehran on a deal to curb the country’s advancing nuclear program.
Iran appeared to be taking the middle ground, neither rejecting negotiations with the United States nor accepting face-to-face talks with Mr. Trump.
But Kamal Kharazi, the top foreign policy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said, according to local news reports, “The Islamic Republic has not closed all the doors and is willing to begin indirect negotiations with the United States.”
The countries have not had official diplomatic relations since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but they have engaged directly and indirectly on issues like the nuclear program, detainee swaps and regional tensions.
Iran said it submitted its written reply to Mr. Trump through Oman on Wednesday. The foreign minister of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had presented a comprehensive view on the issues raised by Mr. Trump and on the overall situation in the Middle East, according to the official news agency IRNA.
“Our policy is to not negotiate directly while there is maximum pressure policy and threats of military strikes,” Mr. Araghchi said on Thursday. “But indirect negotiations can take place as they have in the past.”
What did the Trump letter say?
Mr. Trump sent the letter this month to Mr. Khamenei, saying he preferred diplomacy to military action.
“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate, because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing,’” Mr. Trump told Fox News. “You can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
On March 12, Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomat from the United Arab Emirates who traveled to Tehran to deliver Mr. Trump’s letter, told Iranian news media that it contained “threats” and also an opportunity.
Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, revealed more details in an interview with Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host who is now a popular podcaster. Mr. Witkoff said the letter roughly said: “We should talk, we should clear up the misconceptions, we should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material.”
An Iranian official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly said that Mr. Trump had set a two-month deadline for Iran to negotiate, a detail initially reported by Axios.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a research institute based in London, said the letter-writing between Tehran and Washington showed that both sides were “sizing each other up and finding different channels, some public and many private, to define what they can achieve.”
“This is an opportunity for both sides,” she added, “but it comes with a thousand risks and challenges.”
What is the view in Iran?
Since Mr. Trump’s election, officials and pundits in Iran have publicly debated the topic, with a conservative hard-line faction vehemently objecting to talks or concessions and a moderate and reformist faction arguing that negotiations are necessary to lift sanctions.
Mr. Khamenei, who has the last word on all key state matters, has said he does not believe that Iran would gain from talks.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, a moderate, has distanced himself from that view, telling Parliament this month that he favored negotiations but would follow Mr. Khamenei’s directive.
On Thursday, Mr. Khamenei’s office signaled a shift in tone, based on Mr. Kharazi’s remarks.
What other options are being considered?
If talks on a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program fail, Israel and the United States have suggested the possibility of launching targeted strikes on the two main underground nuclear facilities in Iran, Natanz and Fordow.
But that risks setting off a wider regional war since Iran has warned it would respond to any strikes on its soil. And any attacks could destabilize the Middle East, with Tehran turning to its network of weakened but still active proxy militias, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the West and Israel are concerned that Tehran has been secretly planning a faster, cruder approach to building a weapon.
In 2018, Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposed tough economic sanctions. The moves prompted Iran to abandon its commitments to the deal and increase uranium enrichment from a cap of 3.5 percent to 60 percent now.
The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog says in its latest report that Iran has stockpiled enough enriched uranium to make several bombs. But the watchdog says it has found no evidence that Iran is weaponizing its program.
“Iran is at a crossroad, between having an off ramp or being militarily hit,” said Ms. Vakil, of Chatham House. “It’s a year of really consequential decisions, and how they play their hand could give them a lifeline or lead to further strikes and weakening of the government.”
The Defense Department’s nearly $1.45 trillion budget request — the largest ever for the Pentagon — was ostensibly the reason for the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday. But anyone who hoped for details on how that money might be used would have been left wanting.
For three hours, senators questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Pentagon’s comptroller, Jay Hurst. But for the most part, the session focused on the U.S. war against Iran and Mr. Hegseth’s tenure.
Here are the main takeaways.
Hegseth said Democrats were the enemy.
At the hearing’s outset, Mr. Hegseth condemned members of Congress who have questioned or challenged the Iran war, just as he did a day earlier during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
“I’ll say it again today, the biggest adversary we face at this point are the reckless naysayers and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” he said.
Democrats asked about civilian deaths in the war.
Democratic senators questioned Mr. Hegseth on his gutting of the office that works to reduce harm to civilians in combat, which the Pentagon created in 2022 in response to New York Times reporting about noncombatants killed during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The defense secretary dismissed their concerns, and did not answer a question from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, about why he cut about 90 percent of the employees from the civilian protection office.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asked about the Pentagon’s investigation into U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles that hit a girl’s elementary school, killing 168 people on the first day of the war. Mr. Hegseth would only say that the attack remained under investigation.
Two Republican senators, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Dan Sullivan of Alaska, asked Mr. Hegseth and General Caine if U.S. forces ever deliberately targeted civilians in conflict. Both men said no.
Hegseth and Caine did not respond directly to questions about women in combat.
Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, asked General Caine three times for his opinion on whether having women in combat units lowered standards if they meet the same physical fitness standards of men, and each time the general avoided answering directly.
General Caine said that “standards” were set by “civilian leaders” and offered a tepid declaration that women “continue to perform well across a range of” military specialties and assignments, but did not make a clear statement of support for their continued assignment to combat units.
Mr. Hegseth said that “the highest male standard for every combat arms position” should be the standard for whether women are allowed to serve in those roles.
Christian nationalism and race were also tense issues.
Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, asked Mr. Hegseth about his removal of women and Black men from senior leadership positions.
The senator said that Mr. Hegseth had “an intense interest in Christianity, in nationalism, and in not recognizing the talents of women and nonwhite men.”
“And that’s the wrong direction,” he added.
Mr. Hegseth appeared to be incensed.
“I don’t know what you’re insinuating, senator, but I am not ashamed of my faith in Jesus Christ,” he replied, calling Mr. Reed’s comments a “smear” on his character.
Mr. Reed pressed forward, asking about the secretary’s monthly Christian prayer services in the Pentagon auditorium and his tendency to give a Christian rationale for war.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Secretary,” the senator said. “Stressing the need for more Christianity in the military forces doesn’t seem like a neutral position in which you tolerate and accept all religions.”
Hegseth was accused of using antisemitic language.
Senator Jacky Rosen, Democrat of Nevada, accused Mr. Hegseth of using antisemitic language when he compared members of Congress and the news media to the Pharisees who criticized Jesus of Nazareth for performing miracles.
“It’s a problematic and weaponized term that casts Jewish communities as hypocritical or morally corrupt,” Ms. Rosen said of the defense secretary’s use of the term Pharisee.
“Words matter — what you say, how we choose to say it,” she said. “How do you justify using this language as secretary of defense?”
“I feel like it’s a pretty accurate term for folks who don’t see the plank in their own eye and always want to see what’s wrong with an operation,” the defense secretary said. “As opposed to the historic success of preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapons.”
“So I stand by it,” he added.
Democrats focused on the war’s harm to the U.S. economy.
Democrats repeatedly steered the discussion to the economic impact of the Iran war on Americans, specifically the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows.
“We can try and tell the American people that it’s going great and we’re killing it,” said Senator Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, “but until the Strait of Hormuz is open, I don’t think we can credibly say that with any seriousness.”
There was a rare moment of agreement across party lines.
Senator Gary Peters, Democrat of Michigan, asked Mr. Hegseth when the war with Iran would end. The senator noted that the United States could continue to have tactical successes while still not creating the political conditions for the two countries to negotiate its end.
Mr. Peters asserted that the United States would not be able to end the war until it took control of the Strait of Hormuz.
That spurred perhaps the lone point of agreement between members of the Democratic caucus and a senior Republican on the committee.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he welcomed the question from Mr. Peters.
“Let me observe that I very much appreciate the senator from Michigan suggesting ways in which our efforts in Iran could be more successful,” he said. “I do appreciate that.”
Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, Robert Jimison, Greg Jaffe and Megan Mineiro contributed reporting.
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A Wyoming city councilman is facing backlash after posting a comment suggesting the state should “hang bad judges” in response to a court ruling on abortion, later insisting the remark was “not a threat.”
State Rep. Mike Yin, a Democrat, shared a post from Wyoming Public Radio & Media on Facebook regarding a Natrona County judge temporarily blocking the state’s six-week abortion ban, allowing abortions to resume while the law faces ongoing legal challenges.
“The legislature should obey the Constitution and the freedom to make your own healthcare choices. Instead we keep making it harder to keep doctors in Wyoming and kids in this state,” Yin wrote in the post. “The only way that changes is at the ballot box.”
Troy Bray, a city councilman in Powell, Wyoming, commented on the post about a judge blocking the state’s so-called “heartbeat” abortion law.
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“In order for Wyoming to find justice, we will have to hang bad judges,” Bray wrote.
The comment quickly drew criticism from other users, some of whom described the remark as dangerous and inappropriate given the role of elected officials.
Bray later addressed the backlash in a lengthy Facebook post, saying his comment was “a statement of my beliefs, NOT a threat,” and not intended as a call for others to act.
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Wyoming Republican Gov. Mark Gordon signed the fetal heartbeat abortion restriction in March, but he acknowledged the likelihood of legal challenges to come from it. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
“That is a statement of my beliefs, NOT a threat, as some have characterized it, nor is it a call for others to act,” Bray wrote.
Bray added that he is working to address what he sees as systemic issues “by any means necessary,” a phrase that has drawn additional scrutiny, though he said he intends to pursue peaceful solutions.
“I will exhaust every peaceful means I can find,” he wrote.
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Anti-abortion rights demonstrators march to the Supreme Court for the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, 2025. (Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
He also argued that Wyoming’s judicial system is “broken” and accused judges of overstepping their authority, writing that courts are often the “last place you will ever find justice.”
Bray expanded on that point in his follow-up post, arguing the legal system is often inaccessible to ordinary people.
“Lawyers file frivolous lawsuits intended to use the system as a punishment, financially draining their adversaries with a process that is formatted to require a specialist lawyer just to participate,” he wrote. “Show up without a lawyer, and you aren’t even allowed to present an argument. Justice is denied to anybody who doesn’t pay for it.”
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He also pointed to historical and international examples of public unrest, arguing that people will “fight” for justice when they believe it is being denied.
The comment came as legal battles over Wyoming’s abortion laws continue to play out in court.
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Bray, who serves on the Powell City Council, is one of several local officials who have weighed in publicly on the issue, which has drawn strong reactions from both supporters and opponents of abortion restrictions.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bray for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has enlisted new allies in his legal battle to unravel Nexstar Media Group’s takeover of rival television station group Tegna Inc.
Late Thursday, Bonta announced that five additional states have joined his coalition that is suing to block the $6.2-billion merger. With the additional plaintiffs, the group of top state law enforcement officers has grown to 13 — and the campaign now is a bipartisan effort.
“Antitrust enforcement is not political — it’s about protecting working families and helping ensure the benefits of a vibrant economy are for everyone, not just well-connected corporations,” Bonta said in a statement. “We welcome our sister states into the fray and look forward to fighting alongside them.”
The new states are Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont. They have joined existing the plaintiffs that represent the people of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.
Nexstar owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles.
U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley two weeks ago granted a request by the attorneys general to issue a preliminary injunction halting the merger as the legal case proceeds. The proposed merger — which Nexstar rushed to complete despite opposition from the states — would create the nation’s largest broadcast station group with 265 television stations, up from 164 that Nexstar currently controls.
In dozens of markets, including San Diego and Sacramento, Nexstar would own multiple major TV network affiliates. That duplication has raised concerns about staff consolidations and widespread newsroom layoffs.
“State attorneys general nationwide understand just how important robust antitrust enforcement is to American life — and what a rotten deal this is for consumers, for workers, for affordability, and for our local news,” Bonta said.
El Segundo-based DirecTV separately filed a lawsuit to block the deal, saying the Nexstar-Tegna consolidation would harm their business by forcing DirecTV to pay significantly higher fees for the rights to carry their stations as part of its programming lineup.
A Nexstar representative was not immediately available for comment.
Nexstar contends the deal would strengthen TV station economics, allowing stations to bolster their news gathering and expand the number of newscasts. But DirecTV countered that in markets where Nexstar owns two stations, it relies on just one newsroom to program both channels.
Nexstar’s proposed purchase of Tegna would give the Irving, Texas-based Nexstar stations in 44 states covering 80% of the U.S. population.
The federal judge ruled there was sufficient merit in the antitrust arguments brought by Bonta and the others to pause Nexstar’s takeover of Tegna until a trial can be held to decide whether the merger is illegal.
“Nexstar must permit Tegna to continue operating as a separate and distinct, independently managed business unit from Nexstar,” Nunley wrote in his 52-page order on April 17. “And Nexstar must put measures in place to maintain Tegna as an ongoing, economically viable, and active competitor.”
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