Envoy: Trump 'open to an opportunity to clean it all up with Iran'

The US special envoy to West Asia says President Donald Trump is “open to an opportunity to clean it all up with Iran" after his military threats were rebuffed by the Islamic Republic as getting them nowhere. 

In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson published on X, Steve Witkoff touched on Trump’s recent letter to the Islamic Republic, saying it had not been intended as a threat and sought to build trust.

He was referring to the US president's letter delivered to Iran by a UAE envoy who visited Tehran on March 12.

Asked about the contents of Trump's letter, Witkoff said it roughly said, "There’s no reason for us to do this militarily. We should talk."

“We should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material… because the alternative is not a very good alternative.”

He said US discussions with Iran continue through “back channels, through multiple countries and multiple conduits.”

"I think he (Trump) wants a deal with Iran with respect. He wants to build trust with them, if it's possible," the US envoy added.

The remarks mark another flip-flop in the Trump administration's often hostile rhetoric tinged with the occasional tendering of an olive branch to Iran. 

Trump announced on Feb. 4 a return to the maximum pressure campaign on Iran. On Monday, he signaled a significant escalation, threatening Iran over any operations carried out by Yemen against Israel.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Friday that US threats against Iran "will get them nowhere," after Trump threatened the country with possible military action if it refuses to negotiate a new nuclear deal.

"The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran," the Leader said in his live annual televised speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

He said Americans "and others should know that if they do anything malign to the Iranian nation, they will get a hard slap."

Leader warns US against using language of threats against Iran

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has warned the United States against using the language of threats against Iran.

Earlier this month, Ayatollah Khamenei said Trump’s withdrawal from a nuclear deal in his first term renders diplomacy with him pointless, dismissing fresh overtures by Washington for a new agreement.

“The US president saying ‘we are ready to negotiate with Iran’ and calling for negotiations is a deception aimed at misleading global public opinion,” he told a group of students in Tehran. 

The US, the Leader said, wants to portray itself as open to negotiations and making peace and Iran as not willing to accept it.

“What’s the point of negotiating when we know he won’t stick with it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, referring to a 2015 international nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew.

Last week, Major General Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), warned that while Iran will never seek to initiate a war, it remains determined to deliver a resolute response to any threats or acts of aggression by the enemies.

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