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President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, something not immediately confirmed by the supreme leader.Trump made the comments in an interview aired on Friday by Fox Business News, saying he wrote to Iranian leaders.“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing,��" Trump said. He later added that he had sent the letter “yesterday�� in the interview, which was filmed on Thursday.The White House confirmed Trump’s comments, saying that he sent a letter to Iran’s leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal. Trump made the comments in an interview that will air fully on Sunday.“I would rather negotiate a deal. I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily," Trump added. "But the time is happening now. The time is coming up. Something’s going to happen one way or the other.”Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported on Trump's comments, citing the broadcast. However, there was no immediate word from the office of the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has final say over all matters of state.Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has consistently said that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. A report last month, however, by the United Nations�� nuclear watchdog said Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium.Trump’s first term in office was marked by a particularly troubled period in relations with Tehran. In 2018, he unilaterally withdrew the United States from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers, leading to sanctions hobbling the economy, and ordered the killing of the country’s top general.Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and maintain a stockpile of uranium of 300 kilograms.Iran’s accelerated production of near weapons-grade uranium puts more pressure on Trump as he’s repeatedly said he’s open to negotiations with the Islamic Republic while also increasingly targeting Iran’s oil sales with sanctions as part of his reimposed “maximum pressure�� policy.Khamenei in a speech last August opened the door to talks with the U.S., saying there is “no harm�� in engaging with the “enemy.”However, more recently he tempered that, saying that negotiations with America “are not intelligent, wise or honorable�� after Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran.