Iranian leader says he won't accept demands by "bully countries" after Trump claim

• Khamenei didn't mention Trump by name and didn't confirm he received a letter from the U.S. president.

What they are saying: "Some bullying countries insist on talks not to resolve issues but to impose their demands...we will certainly not accept their demands", the Iranian leader said in a meeting with senior officials.

• Khamenei said Iran will not accept demands to cap Iran's defensive capabilities by limiting the production of weapons or its missiles' range.
• He also said Iran won't agree to demands to cut ties with other groups in the region.
• Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the event with Khamenei that Iran hasn't received Trump's letter yet.

The latest: Iran's mission to the UN wrote on X Sunday that it hasn't ruled out negotiations between Iran and the U.S. over the nuclear program.

• "If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran's nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration," the statement said.
• However, if the aim of the talks is "the dismantlement of Iran's peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place," the statement continued.

Driving the news: President Trump said in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that will air in full on Sunday that he sent a letter on Wednesday to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and stressed that he wants to reach a deal on the country's nuclear program.

• The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that the coming days "will be interesting" when it comes to Iran.
• "We are down to final strokes with Iran. We are down to the final moments. We can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Something is going to happen very soon. I would rather have a peace deal than the other option but the other option will solve the problem," he said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements.