Trump writes Iran's new nuclear deal leader, expecting results to be “quickly” – Country
President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, seeking a new deal with Tehran to limit his rapidly moving nuclear program and replace his withdrawal of the U.S. deal during his tenure.
Iranian state media immediately raised Trump's approval in an excerpt from an interview with FOX Business News that aired on Friday, although no confirmation has been received from Khamenei's office. The interview airs on Sunday.
It is unclear how the 85-year-old top leader responded because former President Barack Obama sent his letter to Khamenei's secret before the negotiations began, which led to Tehran's 2015 deal with world powers.
Trump did not mention the letter directly when commenting to Oval Office reporters late Friday, but instead mentioned a cover-up reference, saying: “We have a situation with Iran and something will happen soon. Soon, very soon.”
“Hopefully we can reach a peace agreement,” Trump said. “I'm not out of strength or disadvantage. I'm just saying I'd rather see a peace agreement than another. But the other will solve the problem.”
He suggested that the alternative to the negotiation resolution was the United States threatening to interfere in Iran's military power.
Trump's proposal comes as both Israel and the United States warn them that they will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, leading to fears that Tehran will enrich uranium at near-weapon level, which only atomic armed states seek.
In a Fox Business interview, Trump said: “I've written them a letter, 'I hope you're going to negotiate because it would be a terrible thing if we have to do it militarily,” he said, who sent the letter Thursday.
Trump's propaganda is nervous
The White House confirmed that Trump's letter to Iran's leader is seeking negotiations on a nuclear deal. The president’s comments at the Oval Office echoed the views in the interview, which was recorded Thursday.
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“I would rather negotiate a deal. I'm not sure everyone agrees with me, but we can make a deal like the military won,” Trump said in an interview. “But it's happening now. Time is up. Things will happen one way or another.”
“I hope you will negotiate because it will be better for Iran, and I think they want to receive this letter,” he added. “The other option is that we have to do something because you can't get them nuclear weapons.”
Trump did not provide details about the content provided specifically to Iran in the letter.
The move led Trump to write letters to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, which led to face-to-face meetings without limiting the deals of Pyongyang's atomic bomb and missile programs that could reach mainland America
Iran Long insists that its plan is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue bombs as tensions over U.S. sanctions are high and holding a shaky ceasefire with Israel as a shaky ceasefire in the Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has not launched a weapon program, but “the ongoing activities could better position its production of nuclear devices (if it chooses to do so).
Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has been saying it must prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, a report from the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran accelerated its production of near-weapon-grade uranium.
Trump's tenure is a sign of a particularly difficult period in his relationship with Tehran. In 2018, he unilaterally withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, resulting in sanctions on Iran's economy. Iran has retaliated against the attacks at sea – including possible attacks and temporarily cut Saudi Arabia's oil production in half.
Trump also ordered the killing of Iran's highest general in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020.
Iran's abundant uranium stock surfing
Under the original 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran was allowed to enrich up to 3.67% of purity and maintain 300 kg (661 pounds) of uranium stocks. The IAEA's last report on the Iran program puts its stock at 8,294.4 kg (18,286 pounds) because a small portion of it has a 60% purity.
Iran's accelerated production of near-weapon-grade uranium puts greater pressure on Trump as he repeatedly stated that he is willing to negotiate with the Islamic Republic while increasingly targeting Iran's oil sales as part of his re-imposed “maximum pressure” policy.
Khamenei opened the door to talk to the United States in her speech last August, saying there was no “harm” to interact with the “enemy.” This comes after Iran elected reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian in June, who campaigned on propaganda commitments with the West.
However, recently, after Trump held nuclear talks with Tehran, the top leader’s adjustment was “the negotiations with the United States were “not smart, wise or glorious.” Pezeshkian followed suit, promising to comply with Khamenei’s orders.
Will Khamenei accept a letter? Trump had previously tried to exchange a letter to Khamenei through the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the supreme leader declared: “I don't think Trump personally deserves any information exchange, nor does he respond, and I will never.”
But it is unclear how Iran will respond to further pressure. The currency of the Islamic Republic is Rial, which is of great value. Unemployment and underemployment are still rampant. Meanwhile, women continue to violate the law of mandatory headscarves or turbans and continue to have no head cover, two years after the death of a young detained woman, Mahsa Amini, sparking nationwide protests.
Israel and Iran also launched direct attacks during the Israel-Hamas war, while Tehran’s self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” was rolling up after the assassination of Israel’s leaders. In Israel itself, officials have suggested strikes on Iran's nuclear program now, which Trump threatens while still insisting on a diplomatic deal with Tehran.
According to the U.S. state-owned international agency News Agency, Iran said late Friday to the UN's permanent mission in New York that the country's international bureau, IRNA News Agency reported that it had received no letters from Trump.
– Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran contributed to the report.
