Rumors of Trump giving ultimatum to Iran nuclear deal negotiations

US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, reportedly setting a two-month deadline to reach a nuclear deal.

Axios on March 19 quoted informed sources as saying that the letter that Mr. Trump announced he had sent to Mr. Khamenei contained the US setting a deadline for the parties to reach a nuclear agreement. It is not yet clear when the two-month deadline will be counted from.

In an interview with Fox News two weeks ago, President Trump revealed that he had sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, proposing direct negotiations. Mr. Trump added that the US was “in the final moments” with Iran, but did not mention the time of negotiations or a deadline.

US President Donald Trump (left) and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

“We can’t let them have nuclear weapons. Something is going to happen very soon. I want a peace deal, but there are other options that will solve the problem,” Trump said. The letter was delivered to Iran through an intermediary, Saudi Arabian President Mohammed Bin Zayed.

The United States and Iran signed a nuclear deal in 2015, under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for some relief from Western sanctions. However, President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018 during his first term. In recent years, Iran has increased its uranium enrichment, a prerequisite for developing nuclear weapons. Iran denies it is pursuing nuclear weapons.

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Sources told Axios that Mr. Trump’s letter was “harsh.” It proposed that the parties negotiate a new deal, but also included a warning of consequences if Iran refused and continued to accelerate its uranium enrichment program.

The White House and Iran have not commented on the two-month deadline in the letter. Last week, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei said Trump’s letter was “a deception” designed to make it appear that Tehran was refusing to negotiate. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it was still studying the content of Trump’s letter and would draft an official response from Iran.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ro-tin-ong-trump-ra-toi-hau-thu-cho-dam-phan-thoa-thuan-nhat-nhan-iran-185250320071035856.htm