Trump sets two-month deadline for Iran to reach new nuke deal: CNN

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has given Iran two months to reach a new nuclear deal in a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, CNN reported Wednesday citing a source familiar with the letter's content.

Trump told Fox Business Network in early March that he had sent a letter to Iran's leadership proposing negotiations for a new nuclear deal.

He also told reporters at the White House that the United States is "down to final strokes with Iran" and "can't let them have a nuclear weapon."

"We have a situation with Iran that something's going to happen very soon ... Hopefully we can have a peace deal," he said. "I'm just saying I'd rather see a peace deal than the other, but the other will solve the problem."

According to the CNN source, the letter was presented to the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff during the latter's visit to Abu Dhabi last week. Later, the UAE transferred the letter to the Iranians.

In May 2018, during Trump's first term, the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers. Trump reinstated sanctions on Iran, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments.

In response to Trump's latest call for negotiation, Khamenei said that certain "bullying" powers' insistence on holding talks with Iran is "not for resolving issues, but for dominating and imposing what they want on the other side," according to Iranian state media.