Trump Sends Letter to Iran, Wants to Negotiate Nuclear Agenda
“I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can’t let another nuclear weapon,” Trump said in an interview to Fox Business Network.
US President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate a nuclear weapons programme deal with Iran and sent a letter to its leaders on Thursday saying he hoped they would negotiate.
“I said I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,” the US President said in an interview with Fox Business Network in the US, broadcast early on Friday.
“I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can’t let another nuclear weapon.”
Trump’s remarks came as his administration ramps up pressure on Tehran through renewed economic sanctions and enforcement measures targeting Iran’s oil exports.
The letter is understood to have been addressed to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the Trum administration's actions.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined the administration’s updated "maximum pressure" campaign, saying that the goal is to push Iran’s economy to the brink by tightening restrictions on its oil trade. "Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy," Bessent told the Economic Club of New York, highlighting the impact of US sanctions on the Iranian rial, which has lost half its value in the past six months.
The Trump administration is also exploring ways to inspect Iranian oil tankers in strategic maritime chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait in Asia, according to a Reuters report citing six sources familiar with the matter. The move is part of a broader effort to cut off Tehran’s ability to export oil, its primary source of revenue, and further limit its financial capacity.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing parliament recently, acknowledged the increasing economic pressure, saying that Iranian tankers now face growing uncertainty in unloading their cargo due to heightened US enforcement.
