President Donald Trump said he sent a letter this week to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, expressing his desire to negotiate a nuclear deal but reiterating the prospect of a military attack.
“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing,’” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo recorded Thursday and partially aired Friday.
Trump’s remarks show a shift for the president, who in 2018 withdrew the United States from a nuclear deal with Iran. During his first term, he frequently criticized that deal, which was one of former president Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy achievements and aimed to block Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
But Trump indicated last month that he could follow in Obama’s footsteps and negotiate a deal to avoid a military clash with Tehran and force the country to dismantle the nuclear program it has advanced in recent years. That same day, Trump signed an executive order aimed at restoring “maximum pressure” on Iran.
“I would rather negotiate a deal. I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily,” Trump said in the interview. “But the time is happening now. The time is coming up. Something’s going to happen one way or the other.”
In an interview with French outlet Agence France-Presse, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Iran would not negotiate with the United States while Trump maintains a policy that involves heavy sanctions. Araghchi said Tehran would continue negotiations with other countries.
Trump, speaking to reporters Friday, wouldn’t elaborate on his plans for Iran or whether he believed Iran would be open to talks. But he emphasized there would be movement soon.
“There’ll be some interesting days ahead. That’s all I can tell you,” he said. “We’re down to final strokes with Iran. … We’ll see what happens. We’re down to the final moments. We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump accused former president Joe Biden of allowing Iran to advance its nuclear program, claiming he would have had a deal within a month after the 2020 election. He repeated his false claim that the election was rigged.