US 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 they 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 on 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.”

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.

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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 programme.

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