The United States and Iran are longtime foes, and relations are at a new low after new Israeli strikes against targets in Gaza and threats to shipping from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia.

 

On March 7, Trump said he had written to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging a resumption of negotiations about the Iranian nuclear program.

 

He also warned of potential military action, and Khamenei, in a televised speech on Friday, said, “The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran.”

 

But Witkoff, defending Trump’s outreach, told Carlson that Trump has the military upper hand and that it would be more natural for the Iranians to push for a diplomatic solution.

 

 

Witkoff said that US discussions with Iran continue through “back channels, through multiple countries and multiple conduits.”