Egypt Daily News – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, urging his country to reach a nuclear agreement with the United States, Make a Nuclear Deal or War .
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump stated that he believes he could negotiate a deal that would be just as good as if they had won militarily.
Speaking to Maria Bartiromo from the White House, Trump said, “I hope Iran negotiates”—and I wrote them a letter saying, ‘I hope you will negotiate’—because if we have to resort to military action, it would be terrible for them.” He added, “I hope you negotiate because that would be much better for Iran. I think they want to receive that message—the alternative is that we take action because they cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”
During his first term, Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama with Iran. He also ordered a U.S. strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, an action that enraged Tehran.
Trump has previously expressed interest in negotiating a new agreement with Iran, but the response from Iranian leadership has been mixed. Last month, Khamenei stated that engaging in talks with the U.S. was “not a smart move.”
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that after a meeting between Russian and American officials in Saudi Arabia, Russia had offered to participate in nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
On Thursday, Trump reiterated, “There are two ways to deal with Iran: militarily or by making a deal. I prefer making a deal because I don’t want to harm Iran. I’d rather negotiate a deal—I’m not sure everyone agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as winning militarily.”
