Trump says ready to meet Iran's Rouhani Published 31 July 2018 media caption Donald Trump: "No preconditions, if they want to meet, I'll meet" Donald Trump has offered to meet Iran's leaders with "no preconditions" and "any time they want". "I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meetings," the US president told reporters at the White House. Mr Trump's conciliatory approach comes after he and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani traded hostile warnings earlier this month. In May, the US left a deal which curbed Iran's nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions. Washington is preparing to re-impose sanctions on Tehran within days - despite objections from the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, which also signed the 2015 agreement. The US is deeply suspicious of Iranian activity in the Middle East and is an ally of Israel and Saudi Arabia, two of Iran's foes. "If they want to meet, we'll meet," Mr Trump said. Hamid Aboutalebi, an adviser to President Rouhani, tweeted in response to Mr Trump that "returning to the nuclear deal" and "respecting the Iranian nation's rights" would pave way for talks. Such a meeting would be the first between US and Iranian leaders since before the 1979 Iranian revolution. Mr Trump's abrupt change in tone also echoes the run-up to his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, another diplomatic first, which took place after the two leaders had previously traded insults and threats. media caption Iranian Americans on Trump's policies Shortly afterwards Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would support a meeting if Iran showed it was willing to change its behaviour. The "president wants to meet with folks to solve problems", he told CNBC. Trump's negotiating confidence By Tara McKelvey, BBC White House reporter I was sitting in the East Room when Mr Trump said he'd be happy to meet Mr Rouhani, and I was almost not surprised. Most people would be cautious about such a meeting, especially if they'd just got into a word-battle of the kind Mr Trump has engaged in. But from watching Mr Trump over the past two years, I know he has confidence in his abilities as a negotiator and believes people respond well to his ambition. "People may not always think big themselves," he wrote in his 1987 book The Art of the Deal. "But they can still get very excited by those who do." His other meetings with controversial leaders may have been problematic. But this hasn't deterred him from trying again. Last week Mr Trump responded angrily to Mr Rouhani, who had earlier warned of the consequences of a conflict with his country. Mr Trump tweeted in capitals that Iran would "suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before" if it threatened the US. Mr Rouhani had told Iranian diplomats: "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars." In May Mr Pompeo laid out 12 conditions for any "new deal" with Iran, including the withdrawal of its forces from Syria and an end to its support for rebels in Yemen. What do the US and Iran disagree on? Mr Trump has consistently opposed the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw the US release billions of dollars of frozen assets in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear programme The Trump administration regards Iran as a destabilising force in the Middle East, arguing the nuclear deal enabled Iran to pursue a more assertive regional policy. Iran has sent hundreds of troops and thousands of volunteer militiamen to Syria, and has strengthened its military presence there Gulf states have accused Iran of backing Yemen's Houthi rebels with both money and weapons, though Iran has denied this. Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, is a major adversary of Iran and has repeatedly warned about Iran's intentions Why did the US withdraw from the nuclear deal? In May, Mr Trump called the nuclear accord - or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - a "horrible, one-sided deal". He alleged that the deal did not restrict Iran's "destabilising activities" in the region enough. Analysts also cited the influence of White House Iran hawks including Mr Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, and Mr Trump's tendency to target major policies of his predecessor Barack Obama. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, and its compliance with the deal has been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has said Iran is honouring its commitments.<doc-sep>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Mike PompeoThe Memo: Media face hard questions on Trump, Wuhan lab Trump on Wuhan lab: Now everyone agrees 'I was right' With denuclearization stalled, Biden should focus on human rights reform in North Korea MORE listed specific conditions for President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE to meet with Iranian leaders, hours after Trump said he would not require any preconditions. "We've said this before," Pompeo said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday. “The president wants to meet with folks to solve problems.” Pompeo then listed some preconditions for the meeting to take place. ADVERTISEMENT “If the Iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their malign behavior, can agree that it's worthwhile to enter into a nuclear agreement that actually prevents proliferation, then the president said he's prepared to sit down and have the conversation with them,” Pompeo said. His remarks came just hours after Trump held a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, declaring in front of reporters that he would meet with Tehran with “no preconditions.” “It’s good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I’ll meet,” Trump said. The president added that he wasn’t sure “if they’re ready yet.” “I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet,” Trump said. “And I’m ready to meet any time they want to. And I don’t do that from strength or from weakness. I think it’s an appropriate thing to do.” CNBC noted that Pompeo in May outlined 12 specific conditions that would needed to be met for the U.S. to hold talks with Iran after Trump decided to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. Pompeo recently went after Iran's leadership earlier this month, saying they resembled "the mafia more than a government." Trump's willingness to meet with Iran comes roughly a week after after he issued an all-caps warning to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that he would face “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered” if he threatened the U.S. again. To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018 Rouhani had told Iranian diplomats earlier that day that a war with Iran is “the mother of all wars.”<doc-sep>President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani "anytime they want to," and that he would impose no preconditions on such a meeting. "They want to meet, I'll meet. Anytime they want," Trump said. The president's comments came amid escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran. Earlier this month, Trump threatened Rouhani in an all-caps post on Twitter that called out the Iranian leader by name. Trump tweet A meeting with Rouhani would be "good for the country, good for them, good for us, and good for the world," the U.S. president said. It's not clear whether Iran would accept any proposed meeting, particularly given the threats the president has issued. In July, Rouhani's chief of staff, Mahmoud Vaezi, said that Trump had asked eight times for a meeting with Rouhani, and was rejected each time, according to a state-run news agency. Asked by CNBC on Monday about reports that Iran had rebuffed the administration's overtures, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would not speak about private conversations that may or may not have taken place. Pompeo said he is on board with Trump meeting Iran's leadership, but he outlined several conditions for that meeting. Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May after failing to marshal international support for a tougher approach to the Middle Eastern country. The European Union is trying to salvage the accord, which placed limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. "If we could work something out that's meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet," Trump said Monday, pointing out that it would be good for the United States, Iran and the world. In pulling out of the agreement, the Trump administration restored wide-ranging sanctions on Iran. His administration is pushing oil buyers to stop purchasing crude from Iran, the world's fifth largest oil producer, by Nov. 4. The ultimatum — cut Iranian crude imports to zero or face U.S. sanctions — has ratcheted up tension in recent weeks. Iran has threatened to shut down the world's busiest sea lane for oil shipments. Its allies in Yemen, the Houthi rebels, forced Saudi Arabia to suspend oil shipments through another critical chokepoint in the Red Sea after they attacked Saudi tankers. Trump, whose White House has stylized him as the "ultimate negotiator and dealmaker," stressed the high stakes of any potential meeting with Rouhani. "Speaking to other people, especially when you're talking about potentials of war, and death, and famine, and lots of other things — you meet," he said. "There's nothing wrong with meeting." The president cited his administration's negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin as examples of his successful bilateral negotiations. "As you know, with Chairman Kim we haven't had a missile fired in nine months, we got our prisoners back, so many things have happened so positive," the president said Monday. Trump said his summit with Putin was a "great meeting in terms of the future." Vaezi has warned against making comparisons between North Korea and Iran, according to the July article. "The characteristic of this Establishment and [Iranian] people is that they will not yield to pressure," he said at the time. "Trump should know that Iran and its people are different from North Korea and its people." The president's remarks Monday came during a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The two met earlier in the day in private. — Reuters contributed to this article.<doc-sep>
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that he is on board with President Donald Trump's earlier declaration that he would sit down and talk with Iranian leaders. The interview, appearing on CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Monday, came two hours after Trump said during a press conference with Italy's prime minister that he would meet with Iran's leaders, without pre-conditions, "anytime they want." The secretary of State offered a more qualified take on the potential for top-level meetings with Iran, listing several pre-conditions. "We've said this before," Pompeo said. The "president wants to meet with folks to solve problems. If the Iranians demonstrate a commitment to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their malign behavior, can agree that it's worthwhile to enter into a nuclear agreement that actually prevents proliferation, then the president said he's prepared to sit down and have the conversation with them." U.S.-Iran tensions have intensified of late, after Trump tore up an Obama-era nuclear deal with the Middle Eastern nation and as the administration prepares to fully re-impose sanctions on the regime. It is far from certain Iran would agree to the terms outlined by Pompeo on Monday. In his first major foreign policy speech as secretary of State two months ago, Pompeo issued a list of 12 demands that would require Iran to essentially reverse several pillars of its long-standing foreign policy. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the demands "not acceptable." The Trump administration wants to tie a new nuclear agreement to limits on Iran's ballistic missile program and its role in regional conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. It also wants to make permanent key aspects of the original accord that expire 10 to 15 years from the start of the deal. Iran has rejected those conditions. Earlier this month, Rouhani's chief of staff claimed that Iran rejected eight requests by the Trump administration to hold meetings between the nations' leaders on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting last year. Asked about the claim, Pompeo said he would not speak about private conversations that may or may not have taken place. The first of two deadlines for foreign countries to wind down business ties with Iran arrives in just one week. The Trump administration is also pushing oil buyers to stopping importing supplies from Iran, the world's fifth biggest crude producer, by the second deadline at the start of November. Iran has recently threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the world's busiest sea lane for oil exports, if the United States goes through with the oil sanctions. Iran's Houthi rebel allies in Yemen forced Saudi Arabia to suspend oil shipments through a nearby strait in the Red Sea last week after they attacked a pair of Saudi tankers. The secretary of State spoke with CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera hours after he announced $113 million in new Trump administration investments in Asia.