Trump says he is ready to meet Iranian President Rouhani
Softening his tone, US President Donald Trump today said he is ready to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions to craft a new deal over its nuclear program after threatening Tehran of grave consequences. Trump in May pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement struck by the Obama administration by calling it the "the worst" deal ever negotiated. Here's more.
Meeting won't change Trump's stand on sanctions against Iran: WH
The White House, however, said that Trump's potential willingness to meet with his Iranian counterpart does not change his administration's intent to ratchet up sanctions against Tehran with the stated goal of "seeking changes in the Iranian Government's behavior."
Will certainly meet Iran if they wanted to meet: Trump
"I believe in the meeting, I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet," Trump said at a White House joint conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. "I don't know that they're ready yet. I ended the Iran deal. I do believe that they'll probably end up wanting to meet," he said. Trump also highlighted the benefits of diplomacy.
'Never, ever threaten the US again,' Trump had told Rouhani
Trump had lashed out at Rouhani a week ago in a tweet, saying "Never, ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."
Iran was the most discussed topic between Trump, Italian PM
Iran was one of the topics of discussion between Trump and Conte. "The Prime Minister and I agree that the brutal regime in Iran must never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, never," Trump said. "We encourage all nations to pressure Iran to end the full range of its maligned activities. The US welcomes the partnership of Italy in these vital-efforts," Trump said.
