Trump’s offer of talks with Iran aims to avoid military action, US envoy says
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The US has issued four rounds of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales since Mr Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Jan 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s outreach to Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, on a possible new nuclear deal is an effort to avoid military action, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on March 23.
“We don’t need to solve everything militarily,” Mr Witkoff told Fox News.
“Our signal to Iran is let’s sit down and see if we can, through dialogue, through diplomacy, get to the right place. If we can, we are prepared to do that. And if we can’t, the alternative is not a great alternative.”
Mr Trump said earlier in March that he had sent a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei, warning that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal”.
Ayatollah Khamenei rejected the US offer for talks as “a deception”, saying negotiating with the Trump administration would “tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran”.
However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on March 20 that Tehran would soon reply to both the letter’s “threats and opportunities”. He cautioned on March 23 that talks with the US are impossible unless Washington changes its pressure policy.
Speaking separately on CBS News, US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said America sought “full dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear programme.
“Iran has to give up its programme in a way that the entire world can see,” he said.
“As President Trump has said, this is coming to a head. All options are on the table and it is time for Iran to walk away completely from its desire to have a nuclear weapon.”
Tehran has long said the programme is only for peaceful purposes.
UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said in February that time is running out for a deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade.
While leaving the door open for a nuclear pact with Tehran, Mr Trump has reinstated the “maximum pressure” campaign he applied in his first term as president, including efforts to drive the country’s oil exports to zero.
The US has issued four rounds of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales since Mr Trump’s return to the White House on Jan 20. REUTERS
