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Trump Envoy Says US Trying to Win Iran’s Trust

Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Trump Envoy Says US Trying to Win Iran’s Trust

Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, speaks during a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said the US president was trying to head off armed conflict with Iran by building trust with Tehran in remarks broadcast Friday.

In an interview with online news anchor Tucker Carlson published on X, Witkoff said Trump's recent letter to the Tehran government had not been intended as a threat.

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 militias.

On March 7, Trump said he had written to Iran's supreme leader 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 it would be more natural for the Iranians to push for a diplomatic solution.

"Instead, it's him doing that," he said of the letter.

"It roughly said: 'I'm a president of peace. That's what I want. There's no reason for us to do this militarily. We should talk,'" Witkoff said.

"We should create a verification program so that nobody worries about weaponization of your nuclear material... because the alternative is not a very good alternative."

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

Trump, he said, is "open to an opportunity to clean it all up with Iran, where they come back to the world and be a great nation once again... He wants to build trust with them."

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UN Aid Chief Says to Cut 20% of Staff Due to Funding Shortfall

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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UN Aid Chief Says to Cut 20% of Staff Due to Funding Shortfall

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting called following a recent missile strike by Russia on a residential area in Ukraine, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs will cut 20% of its staff as it faces a shortfall of $58 million, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has told staff after OCHA's largest donor - the United States - cut funding.

"OCHA currently has a workforce of around 2,600 staff in over 60 countries. The funding shortfall means we are looking to regroup to an organization of around 2,100 staff in fewer locations," Fletcher wrote in a note to staff on Thursday.

OCHA works to mobilize aid, share information, support aid efforts, and advocate for those in need during a crisis. It relies heavily on voluntary contributions.

"The US alone has been the largest humanitarian donor for decades, and the biggest contributor to OCHA's program budget," Fletcher said, noting that its annual contribution of $63 million would have accounted for 20% of OCHA's extrabudgetary resources in 2025.

Since returning to office in January for a second term, US President Donald Trump's administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance in a review that aimed to ensure programs align with his "America First" foreign policy.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month announced a new initiative to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

Fletcher said OCHA would "focus more of our resources in the countries where we work," but would work in fewer places.

"OCHA will scale back our presence and operations in Cameroon, Colombia, Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Gaziantep (in Türkiye) and Zimbabwe," Fletcher said.

"As we all know, these exercises are driven by funding cuts announced by Member States and not by a reduction of needs," he said. "Humanitarian needs are on the rise and have perhaps never been higher, driven by conflicts, climate crises, disease, and the lack of respect of international humanitarian law."