Iranian leader said . `` Some people attributed these remarks to Obama , and then they write letters to say we 're ready to have ties , that we respect the Islamic Republic , and on the other hand , they make such comments . Which one should we believe ? '' One Iranian source said , `` We thought President Obama would send congratulations to President Ahmadinejad , '' and before the election , his senior advisers prepared a response to the anticipated note , which never came . The Iranian source said the election dispute is wasting time on the issue of starting U.S.-Iranian negotiations . Watch how the reported letter is part of a new policy of engagement '' `` The longer it is delayed , '' the source said , `` the less likely -LSB- U.S.-Iranian talks -RSB- will happen . '' Another Iranian government official said there is still `` no trust '' between Iran and the United States . The source said he is waiting for `` real change '' even though the Iranian government welcomed the change in tone of the Obama administration before the current election turmoil in Iran . The official
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- U.S. President Obama sent a direct message to Iran 's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weeks before this month 's disputed election , Iranian sources said Wednesday . Iran 's supreme leader , Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , calls for an end to protests last week at Tehran University . The letter requested dialogue and engagement between the two nations , the sources said . The sources said that Khamenei has yet to reply to the letter but that nonetheless it `` had set the negotiating table in order for both sides to sit around it after the election . '' The White House refused to `` get into the specifics of our different ways of communicating , '' a senior Obama administration official said . `` We have indicated a willingness to talk for a long time and have sought to communicate with the Iranians in a variety of ways , '' the official said . Khamenei made an indirect reference to the letter in his sermon on Friday at Tehran University . `` The U.S. president said that we were waiting for a day like this to see people on the street , '' the