Dubai, 7 Mar

US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, seeking a new deal with Tehran to restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear programme and replace the one he withdrew America from in his first term in office.

Iranian state media immediately picked up on Trump's acknowledgment, given in portions of a Fox Business News interview aired on Friday, though there was no confirmation from Khamenei's office that any letter had been received. The interview is expected to air in full on Sunday.

It also remained unclear just how the 85-year-old supreme leader would react, given that former President Barack Obama had kept his letters to Khamenei secret ahead of the start of negotiations for Tehran's 2015 deal with world powers.

Trump's acknowledgment comes as both Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels — a purity only sought by atomic-armed nations.

“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. He later added that he had sent the letter “yesterday” in the interview, which was filmed on Thursday.

Trump's outreach comes amid tensions

The White House confirmed Trump's comments, saying that he sent a letter to Iran's leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal.

“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 added. "But the time is happening now. The time is coming up. Something's going to happen one way or the other.”

“I hope you're going to negotiate because it's going to be a lot better for Iran and I think they want to get that letter," Trump said. "The other alternative is we have to do something because you can't let them have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran long has maintained its programme is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue the bomb as tensions are high with the US over its sanctions and with Israel as a shaky ceasefire holds in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has consistently said that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. A report last month, however, by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium.

Trump's first term in office was marked by a particularly troubled period in relations with Tehran. In 2018, he unilaterally withdrew the United States from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, leading to sanctions hobbling the economy. He ordered the killing of the country's top general in a Baghdad drone strike in 2020.

Iran's enriched uranium stockpile surges

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and maintain a stockpile of uranium of 300 kg (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's programme put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kg (18,286 pounds) as it enriches to 60% purity.

Iran's accelerated production of near weapons-grade uranium puts more pressure on Trump as he's repeatedly said he's open to negotiations with the Islamic Republic while also increasingly targeting Iran's oil sales with sanctions as part of his reimposed “maximum pressure” policy.

Khamenei in a speech last August opened the door to talks with the US, saying there is “no harm” in engaging with the “enemy”.

However, more recently he tempered that, saying that negotiations with America “are not intelligent, wise or honourable” after Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran.