Washington, 7 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - US President Donald Trump has said he has written a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a view to possible nuclear negotiations.

"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 in an interview with the US channel Fox Business.

When asked, he confirmed that he had written the letter to Khamenei.

Trump continued: "There are two ways Iran can be handled – militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal because I’m not looking to hurt Iran."

The US president stressed that "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."

The 78-year-old said he wrote the letter 'yesterday.' The interview was recorded on Thursday.

In his first term in office, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2018 Vienna nuclear pact, which was intended to restrict Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. After that, Tehran also no longer adhered to the terms of the agreement.

Trump had already approached Iran with a message of willingness to talk at the beginning of February while taking a hard line at the same time.

Most recently, however, Khamenei made it clear that his country does not want to negotiate with the US despite the economic crisis and soaring inflation that Iran faces.

The rial has plummeted against foreign currencies, worsening living conditions. Many Iranians struggle with rising food prices, and meat and fish are now considered luxuries.

Photo: MIA archive