Iran's loss may be Turkey's gain in Mideast upheaval

“We can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office. “We are at final moments with Iran. Something’s going to happen very soon."

There’ll be some interesting days ahead, that’s all I can tell you. You know, we’re down to final strokes with Iran,” he added.

He also blamed former US President Joe Biden’s policies for strengthening Tehran financially, saying that Iran was “stone cold broke” during his presidency but had since amassed “$300 billion” in oil revenues.

“Oil builds up fast. It’s a nice, nice living if you have a nice little well. And they do, they have a lot of nice little wells, right?” he said.

Trump again argued that the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel "would have never happened” under his leadership. He also said that Iran had been prepared to reach a deal with the US before the 2020 election but changed course after he lost.

“I think that I would have had a deal within one month after the rigged election of 2020,” he said. “They were all set to make a deal. And then when I lost, they saw this person who’s a stupid person, very stupid person. And they said, let’s not make a deal. And they were right. He took the sanctions off. They became rich under Biden.”

While he said he preferred a diplomatic resolution, he implied that other options remained on the table.

“Hopefully we can have a peace deal. But the other will solve the problem.”

Earlier, Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei offering talks toward a deal on its nuclear program but warned that the alternative was military intervention.

Tehran's UN mission in New York said no letter from Trump has been received.

“The amount of rainfall in Tehran province since the start of the current water year has been the lowest in 57 years,” head of Tehran's Water and Wastewater Company Mohsen Ardakani said on Friday.

The four reservoirs supplying Tehran's water are only six percent full, he added, urging the capital's residents to bring down use.

Water consumption has surged as Iranians embark on their traditional extensive household clean-up before their New Year on March 20th.

On March 1, the city hit a record 48,000 liters per second in consumption—a 20 percent increase despite the cold weather.

“This kind of surge is something we’ve never seen before,” Tehran's water company said in a statement.

Beyond Tehran, much of Iran is struggling with severe water shortages, with nationwide rainfall dropping by 45 percent compared to last year and dam inflows down 29 percent from the five-year average.

Iran has been classified as “extremely high water stress” by the United Nations, which means the crisis may bring about lasting economic, environmental, and social consequences if the trend continues.

Protests over water and its allocation are common in Iran, especially in the country's arid central regions like Isfahan, where farmers blame the government for the mounting crisis.

The situation has also fueled regional tensions, with Iran accusing Afghanistan’s new-built Pashdan Dam of restricting critical water flow to its eastern provinces.

"I hope that Iran, and 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 for them," Trump said in a segment of the interview broadcast on Friday.

"There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal because I'm not looking to hurt Iran," Trump added. "They're great people. I know so many Iranians from this country."

The letter was swiftly dismissed by an official outlet of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a military force which along with Khamenei is a key decision-maker, as a pointless psychological operation.

Trump made a similar approach in his first term, sending a letter with Japan's prime minister at the time Shinzo Abe. The 2019 letter was disregarded by Khamenei who said it was 'not worthy' of a reply.

Tehran's UN mission in New York said no letter from Trump has been received.

Again saying Iran would not negotiate under the strengthened sanctions Trump imposed last month, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Israel was trying to embroil the United States and the region in a foolish war.

"It is Israel's desire to involve the other countries in the region in a war. It is Israel's desire to draw America into a war," he said in an interview with AFP.

This is precisely an Israeli plan to drag America into war, and America is extremely vulnerable if it enters a war in the region. They themselves know this."

'One way or the other'

Trump added in his interview that a nuclear deal would be a victory for Iran.

"I think they want to get that letter," he said. "The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can't let another nuclear weapon."

"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," US president added. "Something's going to happen one way or the other."

The letter comes after the Trump administration broke with decades of US policy to negotiate directly in recent weeks with the Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas movement it views as a terrorist organization.

Trump’s remarks come as his administration ramps up pressure on Tehran through renewed economic sanctions and enforcement measures targeting Iran’s oil exports.

On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined the administration’s updated "maximum pressure" campaign, saying that the goal is to push Iran’s economy to the brink by tightening restrictions on its oil trade.

"Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy," Bessent told the Economic Club of New York, highlighting the impact of US sanctions on the Iranian rial, which has lost half its value in the past six months.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing parliament on Sunday, acknowledged increasing economic pressure, saying that Iranian tankers now face growing uncertainty in unloading their cargoes due to heightened US enforcement.

Hugo Shorter's summons came after Britain said it would put Iran's intelligence and security establishment on the highest tier of a foreign influence watchlist on Tuesday, toughening London's stance on perceived political interference by Tehran.

Under the designation, Iran and anybody acting on its behalf would be deemed a potential security threat and compelled to register their activities in the UK. Not doing so would potentially incur a five-year prison sentence.

According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Alireza Yousefi, assistant foreign minister and director general for Western Europe at Iran’s foreign ministry, met with Shorter on Friday.

IRNA's report added that during the meeting Yousefi told Shorter that Britian's "biased stance and unfounded allegations" contradict international law and diplomatic norms, further deepening Iranian distrust of the UK’s policies toward Iran.

The report cited Shorter as saying he would relay the message to London.

Earlier on Thursday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also condemned the move, saying, "Any government that makes baseless accusations against the Iranian nation or takes hostile actions against them must be held accountable."

Under the new designation, Iran and any individuals acting on its behalf will be required to register their activities in the UK or face possible prison sentences of up to five years.

Referring to past British involvement in Iran’s internal affairs, Baghaei added, "You accuse Iran of what you yourselves are skilled at: interfering in the internal affairs of nations! But this is no longer the 19th century."

Fear over a potential designation prompted emergency meetings among Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani and PMF leaders, Al Seyassah reported.

A senior Iraqi official was quoted as saying that Washington’s decision is driven by Iraq’s refusal to dissolve the PMF and the group's close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The State Department announced Tuesday that it is officially implementing its decision to designate the Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organization, setting in motion President Donald Trump's push earlier this year, to do so.

State Secretary Marco Rubio cited the Houthis' attacks on Red Sea shipping and threats to US and allied security as justification for the designation.

Since October 7, the Houthis have launched near-daily drone and missile attacks on Israel and targeted shipping, claiming it as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), encompassing factions such as Kata'ib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba, have actively engaged in operations against US forces in Iraq and Syria, aligning with Iran's regional strategy.

Following a drone attack in January last year at a US outpost in Jordan—known as Tower 22—that resulted in the deaths of three US soldiers and injuries to 47 others, the US conducted retaliatory airstrikes targeting Iran-backed militia sites in Iraq and Syria.

Subsequently, Kata'ib Hezbollah announced a suspension of its military operations against US forces to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government, which had called for de-escalation.