Trump gives Iran two months to finalize a new nuclear deal

The letter US President Donald Trump sent to Iran last week urging the country to negotiate its nuclear program included a two-month deadline for reaching a new agreement, US media reported.

The news outlet Axios noted that it's unclear when the countdown begins, whether at the time the letter is received or from the start of negotiations.

Iran stated on March 13 that it was “evaluating” the letter. “A decision on how to respond will be made after a thorough evaluation and investigation,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said in a statement.

The letter was delivered last Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

"Trump made it clear to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he wanted to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program through diplomatic means, and very quickly, and that if that wasn't possible, there would be other ways to resolve the dispute," said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

When Iran confirmed receipt of the letter, the Islamic Republic's highest political and religious authority considered that Trump was inviting dialogue so he could say that "Iran refuses to negotiate" and recalled that the Republican abandoned the 2017 nuclear pact during his first term (2021-2015).

That pact limited Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. It was signed between Iran and Germany, the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia, and the United States, which abandoned it and unilaterally reimposed economic sanctions against Tehran.

Following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran is enriching uranium far beyond the limits allowed under the defunct agreement and now possesses 274 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, close to the military-grade 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The alleged deadline set for Iran comes at a time of rising tensions between the two countries over the latter's support for the Houthis in Yemen.

Trump noted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that although “Iran has decreased its intensity in providing military equipment and general support to the Houthis, it continues to send large quantities of supplies,” and therefore demanded that such support cease “IMMEDIATELY.”

Today, the agency also offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its various branches, including the Quds Force, its elite unit for operations abroad. EFE and Aurora