U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and sent a letter to its leadership on Thursday saying he hoped the Islamic Republic, arch foe of longtime U.S. ally Israel, would agree to talk.

“I said I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,” Trump said in the interview with Fox Business Network broadcast Friday.

“I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can’t let another nuclear weapon.”

There was no immediate response from the foreign ministry in Iran, where it is currently the weekend, to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.

The letter appeared to have been addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The White House did not immediately respond to a request about that.

“There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal,” Trump said. “I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran. They’re great people.”

Trump has upended U.S. foreign policy after taking office in January, adopting a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow’s three-year-old war in Ukraine.

Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, a multinational agreement to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons, in 2018, a year into his first White House term.

He said in February he would like to make a deal with Iran that prevents that country from developing a nuclear weapon.

Russia has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, a source briefed on discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as the Kremlin vowed to do everything possible to facilitate a peaceful solution to tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed international efforts to resolve the situation around Iran’s nuclear program with Iranian ambassador Kazem Jalali, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

(Reutres)

Thousands of people poured on to the streets of Bannu in northwestern Pakistan for the funerals on Wednesday of 18 people, including six children, killed in a suicide attack on a security installation.

Suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into the town’s military base in an attack staged by more than a dozen militants on Tuesday.

The military said in a statement that the multiple suicide blasts caused a partial collapse of the compound’s outer wall, damaging nearby infrastructure. A nearby mosque and residential building were also severely damaged, it added.

At least 13 civilians and five soldiers were killed in the attack, the military said. Muhammad Nauman, a spokesperson for a nearby hospital, said six children were among those killed and 36 others were wounded, read the report.

Abdullah Khan, a 46-year-old resident of Banu who runs a livestock business said it was the largest funeral ever seen in the town.

Riaz Wazir, a 46-year-old shopkeeper, who also attended the funeral, said that, in addition to the loss of life, the blasts had caused substantial damage and financial loss.

“Buildings that have fallen are destroyed. Those that have not fallen are dangerous because of explosions, any accident can happen,” he said.

The military said four suicide bombers were among 16 militants also killed in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Pakistan is battling a surge in attacks by its own chapter of the Islamist Taliban movement, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on police and military in areas near the Afghan border.

Video images from the scene showed people sifting through piles of bricks and clearing metal scaffolding.

Nauman, the hospital spokesperson, said a number of the civilian casualties were trapped under collapsed buildings and walls.

Rescue services were searching for more casualties under the debris.

“The evil ambitions of the enemies of Pakistan will never be allowed to succeed,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement condemning the attack.

Russia has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, a source briefed on discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as the Kremlin vowed to do everything possible to facilitate a peaceful solution to tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.

Russia’s state-run Zvezda media outlet reported earlier on Tuesday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to mediate between Tehran and Washington in talks over nuclear weapons.

A source briefed on the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Russia had offered to act as an intermediary, but Moscow was not asked to serve in such a role.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York declined to comment.

The development comes after U.S. President Donald Trump upended U.S. policy after taking office in January, taking a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow’s three-year war in Ukraine.

Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Iran was Russia’s partner and ally and Moscow would continue to develop relations.

“President Putin believes and is convinced that the problem of Iran’s nuclear dossier should be solved solely by peaceful means,” he said. “Of course, Russia, being an Iranian ally, will be doing all what is possible to facilitate the peaceful solution to the problem.”

Trump last month restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran in a bid to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. But he also said he was open to a deal and was willing to talk to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“The Trump administration will talk to our adversaries and allies alike, but … from a position of strength to defend our national security,” Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on Tuesday.

Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned, read the report.

Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

“The United States will not tolerate Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon or their support of terror in the Middle East and around the world,” Hughes said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, conveying “that he anticipates close coordination in addressing the threats posed by Iran and pursuing opportunities for a stable region,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Iran agreed a deal in 2015 with Britain, Germany, France, the U.S., Russia and China – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – that lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.

Washington quit the agreement in 2018 during Trump’s first term as president, and Iran began moving away from its nuclear-related commitments.

Britain, France and Germany have told the U.N. Security Council that they are ready – if needed – to trigger a so-called “snap back” of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Reuters reported.

They will lose the ability to take such action on October 18 next year when the 2015 U.N. resolution on the deal expires. Trump has directed his U.N. envoy to work with allies to snapback international sanctions and restrictions on Iran.