At the beginning of last month, United States (US) President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressing his desire to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. This request followed Trump’s Executive Order in early February threatening “maximum pressure” to ensure that “Iran be denied a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles.” The order also tightened all sanctions and other measures against Iran. The Iranians responded formally through Oman suggesting that they did not want direct negotiations, but would be open to indirect talks. On 30 March 2025, in response to the Iranian rejection, Trump warned that if Iran did not reach a nuclear agreement with the US, it could face military action, specifically bombings, alongside the imposition of secondary tariffs like those enacted during his previous administration. On Monday, Iran delivered a message from Khamenei to the US through the Swiss embassy which represents US interests in Iran, warning that Iran will respond “decisively and immediately” to any US action.
Trump, Iran, and the Nuclear Deal: A Slow-Motion Crisis (Manoj Joshi, Observer Research Foundation)
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