Obama Wrote Secret Letter to Iran’s Ayatollah About Fighting Islamic State

Madeleine Morgenstern:

President Barack Obama wrote a secret letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month about their shared interest in combatting the Islamic State, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday:

The letter appeared aimed both at buttressing the Islamic State campaign and nudging Iran’s religious leader closer to a nuclear deal.

Mr. Obama stressed to Mr. Khamenei that any cooperation on Islamic State was largely contingent on Iran reaching a comprehensive agreement with global powers on the future of Tehran’s nuclear program by a Nov. 24 diplomatic deadline, [people briefed on the letter] say.

The October letter marked at least the fourth time Mr. Obama has written Iran’s most powerful political and religious leader since taking office in 2009 and pledging to engage with Tehran’s Islamist government.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest refused to confirm the letter to reporters on Thursday, but according to the Journal, Obama officials “didn’t deny the letter’s existence when questioned by foreign diplomats in recent days.”

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