Witkoff: Trump-Erdogan conversation was great and the US is trying to gain Iran’s trust and avoid an armed conflict
US Special Representative for the Middle East Policy Steve Witkoff said that President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had a great conversation and that positive things are coming.
Last Sunday, Presidents Trump and Erdoğan discussed numerous bilateral and regional issues in detail during a telephone conversation.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Friday evening, he added that he expects Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrack, to do an exceptional job.
He continued, “I think the president Trump has a relationship with Erdogan, and this is important… I think things will go well”.
He added, “There is a lot of positive news coming out of Türkiye right now, and I think you will see that in the news in the coming days”.
On Friday, Fox News reported, citing two informed sources, that President Donald Trump is open to selling F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye again, following his discussions with President Erdogan.
Fox News added that Trump is considering lifting sanctions on Türkiye (due to the Russian S-400 system) and resuming the deals of F-35.
Fox News continued, “Trump expressed his openness to the idea of selling F-35 aircraft to Türkiye, if the two sides reached an agreement that would render the Turkish S-400 system inoperable”.
Regarding Iran, Witkoff, confirmed that Trump is trying to avoid an armed conflict with Iran by building trust with it.
Witkoff said that Trump’s recent message to Tehran wasn’t intended as a threat.
Tensions between arch-rivals the United States and Iran have escalated following renewed Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the return of Tehran-backed Houthi threats to shipping in the Red Sea.
On March 7, Trump announced that he had sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging him to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, warning of possible military action.
However, Khamenei responded in a televised Nowruz address, saying, “the Americans will never achieve anything by threatening Iran”.
Defending Trump’s efforts to engage with Tehran, Witkoff explained to Carlson that the US president enjoys military superiority and it is only natural that the Iranians would seek a diplomatic solution, adding, “Instead, he is the one who does it”.
“The message roughly says: ‘I am a president of peace… This is what I want…. We don’t have to do this militarily… We’ve to talk,'” he said.
Witkoff continued, “We must establish a verification program so that no one has to worry about your nuclear material being diverted to a weapon… because the alternative isn’t very good”.
Witkoff noted that US discussions with Iran are continuing through “back channels, across multiple countries and channels”.
He pointed out that Trump is “open to the opportunity to settle everything with Iran, so that it can return to the world and become a great nation again… He wants to build trust with them”.
