US President Donald Trump’s appeal to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over a new nuclear deal is an attempt to avoid military action, US special envoy Steven Witkoff said on Sunday.
There is “no need to solve everything militarily,” he said.
“Our message to Iran is let’s sit down and see if we can get to the right place through dialogue, through diplomacy. If we can, we are ready to do it. And if we can’t, the alternative is not a great alternative,” he said on Fox News.
Witkoff added that US President Donald Trump’s position on Iran’s nuclear weapons remains unchanged.
“Iran should not have a bomb. We can’t allow them to go to the point of arming themselves and building a nuclear arsenal. It can’t happen and it’s not going to happen,” he emphasised.
Also, White House National Security Advisor Mike Voltz told CBS News that the U.S. seeks a “complete dismantling” of Iran’s nuclear programme. “Iran has to abandon its programme in a way that the whole world can see…. All options are on the table, and it’s time for Iran to completely walk away from its desire for nuclear weapons,” he said.
Axios recently wrote that Trump, in a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, made a demand for a new nuclear agreement within two months. The publication’s sources said that Trump’s letter to Khamenei was “tough.” On the one hand, he offered to negotiate a new nuclear agreement, and on the other hand, he warned of consequences if Iran rejected the offer and continued to advance its nuclear programme.
In early March, US President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offering talks. On 8 March, Khamenei, commenting on Trump’s offer to negotiate a nuclear deal, said Tehran would not negotiate under pressure from a “bully country.”
Last month, Khamenei said he was opposed to direct talks with Trump, saying he could not be trusted since he withdrew from the nuclear deal.
Read also: IAEA: Iran plans to ‘dramatically increase’ uranium enrichment
Trump, during his previous presidency, pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
Last December, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Iran was ready to significantly ramp up its production of highly enriched uranium. The IAEA report said the consequence would be “a significant increase in the production of uranium enriched to 60 per cent”.
Although Iran claims its programme is peaceful, Iranian officials have increasingly threatened to build a nuclear bomb and an intercontinental ballistic missile.