White House says Iran policy unchanged despite secret IS-related letter

Citing “people briefed on the correspondence,” an influential U.S. newspaper is reporting that President Barack Obama wrote a letter to Iran’s supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this past October. According to The Wall Street Journal, “the letter appeared aimed both at buttressing the Islamic State campaign and nudging Iran’s religious leader closer to a nuclear deal.” However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday that U.S. policy toward Iran has not changed. Earnest would not comment on the letter, but insisted that the U.S. “will not cooperate militarily” and will not share intelligence with Iran. Many Republican leaders have criticized the Obama administration’s desire to ease sanctions on Iran while teasing out nuclear power talks.

I don’t trust the Iranians, I don’t think we need to bring them into this … I would hope that the negotiations that are underway are serious negotiations, but I have my doubts.

John Boehner, Republican House Speaker

The U.S. and Iran broke off diplomatic relations in 1979 after the Islamic revolution and the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held hostage for more than a year. However, the relationship began to thaw after Obama took office, particularly following the election last year of a more moderate-sounding Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani. U.S. and Iranian officials held a series of secret meetings last year that ultimately paved the way for the resumption of international nuclear negotiations. Obama and Rouhani also held a historic phone call last fall, the first direct communication between their nation’s leaders since the Islamic revolution.

Politics Iran letter