Trump Gives Iran Two-Month Deadline for Nuclear Deal

United States President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying Iran has two months to agree to a new nuclear deal or it will face consequences, Axios reported Wednesday.

The letter proposes renewed nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. If Iran refuses to cooperate within two months, President Trump warned the U.S. or Israel could respond militarily. However, the start and end date of that two-month period is unclear.

In an interview on Fox Business News on March 7, President Trump explained:

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.” … 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. They’re great people.

Deception? When Khamenei received the letter last week, he said it was “a deception” and that President Trump was trying to make it look like Iran did not want to negotiate.

At the same time, Khamenei has repeatedly turned down negotiations with the U.S. since President Trump ended the last nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (jcpoa), which allowed Iran to keep its nuclear program as long as it promised not to build nuclear weapons. Despite agreeing to the jcpoa, Iran still pursued weapons grade material.

Khamenei said he will not be “bullied” into negotiations. But according to the Iranian mission to the United Nations, “If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.”

In other words, it is not that Iran doesn’t want to negotiate a deal, it just wants a deal that favors its nuclear ambitions. If Iran can negotiate another deceptive deal like the jcpoa, where it can be treated as an ally and still pursue nuclear weapons—even if secretly—it will do so. And if President Trump continues to pressure Iran into a deal, Iran is likely to get its way.

Leading to peace? In his article “Does Donald Trump Know the Way to Peace?”, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote that any deal made with Iran “will expand Iran’s ability to spread its evil terror across the Middle East.” To understand why, read “Does Trump Want an Iran Nuke Deal?”