As Trump offers new nuclear talks, Iran weighs the cost of losing its final leverage

Iran is currently mulling over US President Donald Trump’s offer for talks on a new nuclear deal. Its answer will hinge on one key factor: Whether it believes that it can come out of it undefeated.

Iran is currently mulling over US President Donald Trump’s offer for talks on a new nuclear deal. Its answer will hinge on one key factor: Whether it believes that it can come out of it undefeated. Last week, Trump sent Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a rare letter proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal, with a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents told CNN. The communication contained “more of a threatening posture,” but apparently also offered “some opportunities” for Iran, the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday, saying a response will come “in the coming days.” Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, delivered the letter to the president of the United Arab Emirates last week, according to the source, and a UAE official passed it on the Iranians. In an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson over the weekend, Witkoff offered some insight into the letter’s contents. “It roughly said: I’m a president of peace, that’s what I want. There’s no reason for us to do this militarily. We should talk. We should clear up the misconceptions. We should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material, and I’d like to get to that place, because the alternative is not a very good alternative.”