Iranian media outlets and officials have had a relatively muted response to a report by the Wall Street Journal that President Barack Obama had written a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in mid-October saying that the two countries have a shared interest in the fight against the Islamic State group (IS) and that any potential cooperation is contingent on reaching a final nuclear deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1).

A few news agencies covered the story, but very little analysis or official reactions have been offered by Iranian observers or officials. Unlike some administration officials who have advocated for cooperation with the United States, a number of the more conservative officials who oppose it gave interviews and speeches restating their insistence that the nuclear negotiations do not extend to any other topics.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, the temporary Friday prayer for Tehran, a position that is appointed by a body that is supervised by the supreme leader’s office, said Nov. 7 that even if an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program is reached, it will not change Iran’s policy toward the United States. “Even if the nuclear issue is resolved, the hate toward 'the arrogance' will not be removed from the people, and the shouts of 'Death to America' are loud,” he said, using a common pejorative term for the United States.

Ismail Kowsari, a member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, which the nuclear negotiators brief regularly on the ongoing negotiations, responded to statements that issues other than the nuclear program would be raised at the Nov. 9 Oman meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. “Just as the system has officially stated before, these negotiations will only discuss the nuclear issue,” he said.