U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Friday that he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging him to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Washington or face possible military action.
“I said: ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,’” Trump said in an interview with the Fox Business Network channel. The missive was sent on Thursday, he added.
“I think they want to get that letter,” Trump said. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The Islamic Republic has significantly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium, enough to build six nuclear bombs, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by Reuters.
Earlier this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said there is “zero chance” there will be an agreement with Iran that would convince Khamenei to abandon his ambitions to build nuclear weapons.
“The ayatollah is a religious Nazi; he will not take a deal and honor it,” the senator declared when asked about offers by Russian President Vladimir Putin to broker a deal with Tehran.
“I don’t think you can negotiate with this guy,” the senator said, adding, “To President Trump: I encourage you to allow Israel to use military force to destroy their nuclear program while we can.”
On Feb. 26, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Politico that a “reliable military option” is required to deter the Islamic regime from taking the final steps toward acquiring nuclear weapons.
Israel’s top diplomat said time was running out to act against Tehran’s nuclear program, as it had enriched enough uranium for a “couple of bombs” and was now “playing with ways” to weaponize it.
Jerusalem is open to pursuing a diplomatic path, he said, adding that the chances of talks being successful were “not huge” and that a failure to stop the Islamic Republic would be a “catastrophe for the security of Israel.”
During his first term in 2018, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal with Iran and stepped up sanctions on the regime in Tehran. The deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for a promise to dial back its nuclear program for 10 years.
Since returning to the White House on Jan. 20, Trump has renewed his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran, including by issuing punishing sanctions and targeting its oil revenue.
