9 Adar 5785 – March 9, 2025

Tehran will not be bullied by the United States over its nuclear program, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Saturday, a day after President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to the Iranians asking to negotiate a deal.

“The insistence of some bully governments on negotiations is not to resolve issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” Khamenei said in a meeting with senior Iranian officials in Tehran, Reuters reported.

“Talks for them is a path to have new expectations, it is not only about Iran’s nuclear issue. Iran will definitely not accept their expectations,” the dictator added, seemingly ruling out a path to negotiations.

The White House responded on Saturday to Iran’s rejection, reaffirming Trump’s stance that Tehran faces a choice between military action and a diplomatic agreement.

“We hope the Iran regime puts its people and best interests ahead of terror,” said White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes.

Trump, in an interview with the Fox Business channel on Friday, said that his letter conveyed the message, “’I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran.’

“I think they want to get that letter,” he continued. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Speaking to reporters on the same day in the Oval Office, Trump said that there would be “interesting days ahead” with respect to the Islamic Republic.

“We’re down to final strokes with Iran,” Trump said, using a golf metaphor. “We’re down to the final moments. We’re at final moments. Can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Tehran has significantly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium, enough to build six nuclear bombs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters.

In Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday, he also accused Western media of not allowing denial of the Holocaust.

No one can “protest the crimes committed in Palestine and Lebanon, or deny what Hitler is claimed to have done to the Jews, on Western-run social media,” he said.

Khamenei further slammed European nations for criticizing Tehran’s noncompliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement on its nuclear program, signed in 2015 during the Obama administration.

France, Britain and Germany “are issuing statements, claiming that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA! Someone should ask them: Have you fulfilled yours? You never did from the very beginning!” he said.

Iran’s supreme leader stressed that during the administration of President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021), the Islamic Republic “tolerated” the deal for a year, until the Iranian parliament approved a bill prohibiting the country from renewing the JCPOA agreement.

“There was no other way. And now, the same holds true: There is no other way to stand against coercion and bullying,” Khamenei said.

9 Adar 5785 – March 9, 2025

Israel has confirmed some progress in the ongoing talks between the United States and Hamas. The development followed discussions between President Donald Trump’s envoy, Adam Buehler, and senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, who was reportedly a covert participant in planning the October 7 massacre, according to a report by Reshet Bet radio on Sunday.

An Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Doha on Monday for negotiations, with its mandate to be determined in Sunday’s cabinet meeting. US envoy Witkoff will arrive in the region on Tuesday. The discussions are expected to initially focus on determining the framework for the negotiations.

On Saturday, the Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported that Hamas had agreed to the American initiative, which involves extending phase one of the hostage deal in exchange for the release of several live hostages (Arab Report: Hamas Will Release Live Hostages for Extended Ceasefire). This progress in negotiations between Hamas and the Americans prompted Israel to announce the dispatch of a delegation to Doha.

However, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi denied the reports, asserting that they were false. He emphasized that Hamas remains committed to the previously agreed-upon deal and its second phase.

A delegation from Hamas is currently engaged in ceasefire talks in Cairo with Egyptian mediators, who are being assisted by officials from Qatar. The goal is to move forward with the next phase of the deal, which could potentially pave the way for ending the war. Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif Al-Qanoua stressed that the terror group is ready to engage in second-phase negotiations that meet the demands of the “Palestinian people.” He also called for increased efforts to support Gaza and lift the blockade.

In a separate statement following their meeting with Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the head of Egypt’s general intelligence agency, Hamas affirmed its support for forming a committee of “national and independent” figures to govern Gaza until elections.

Additionally, on Saturday, Kan 11 News reported, citing an Israeli source, that the United States had indeed proposed a plan to release ten hostages. According to the plan, ten live hostages would be freed in exchange for a two-month extension of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.