US trying to win Iran's trust: Steve Witkoff  

WASHINGTON, Mar 22: Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president was trying to head off armed conflict with Iran by building trust with Tehran in remarks broadcast Friday.

In an interview with online news anchor Tucker Carlson published on X, Witkoff said Trump's recent letter to the Islamist government had not been intended as a threat.

The United States and Iran are longtime foes and relations are at a new low after new Israeli strikes against targets in Gaza and threats to shipping from Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
On March 7, Trump said he had written to Iran's supreme leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging a resumption of negotiations about the Iranian nuclear programme.

He also warned of potential military action and Khamenei, in a televised speech on Friday said: "The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran." �"AFP