US President Donald Trump says he has sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program and replace the agreement he withdrew America from in his first term in office, reports AP.
Iranian state media immediately picked up on Trump’s acknowledgment, given in excerpts from a Fox Business News interview aired on Friday, though there was no confirmation from Khamenei’s office that any letter had been received.
The interview airs in full on Sunday.
It remained unclear how the 85-year-old supreme leader would react, given that former President Barack Obama had kept his letters to Khamenei secret ahead of the start of negotiations that led to Tehran’s 2015 deal with world powers.
In comments to reporters in the Oval Office later on Friday, Trump did not mention the letter directly but made a veiled reference, saying, “We have a situation with Iran that, something’s going to happen very soon. Very, very soon.”
“Hopefully we can have a peace deal,” Trump said. “I’m not speaking out of strength or weakness. I’m just saying I’d rather see a peace deal than the other. But the other will solve the problem.”
He’s suggested that the alternative to a negotiated resolution would be the U.S. threatening to intervene military in Iran.
Trump’s overture comes as both Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels — something only sought by atomic-armed nations.
In the Fox Business interview, Trump said, “I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing.’” He said he’d sent the letter on Thursday.
