Iran Claims to Receive Letter from President Obama

The Obama administration has not commented directly on reports that the Iranian government received a direct communication from President Obama to the Supreme Leader of Iran. Conservative Iranian lawmaker Ali Motahari spoke to an Iranian news organization about the letter, which was received after U.S. officials said they would be making public and private overtures to Iran to warn them against disrupting global oil flow in the Persian Gulf.

The letter is described as having two distinct sections, the first of which threatens Iran if they attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz. The second part of the letter suggests that Iran and the U.S. engage in direct talks regarding the situation with Iran's nuclear ambitions and the economic sanctions being placed on the Islamic Republic to discourage their pursuit of nuclear capabilities.

At this point, it is believed that Iran's leadership is still considering if and how to respond to the private letter from the President. The U.S. recently announced that it would delay the implementation of its harshest proposed sanctions against Iran in order to avoid a global spike in oil prices.

With naval forces from the U.S. and Iran already on high alert, U.S. leaders are eyeing a more diplomatic solution to the Iranian situation. It's unclear whether any diplomatic agreement could possibly be reached or whether Iran will even engage in direct negotiations with the U.S.

Iran has steadfastly denied that it intends to produce nuclear weapons and has insisted that its nuclear ambitions are limited specifically to energy production.