Trump, referring to a comment he made on Monday about meeting with the Iranian president, said he had a “feeling they’ll be talking to us pretty soon, and maybe not, but that’s OK, too.”
Trump made the remarks in "Make America Great Again” rally at a fairground auditorium in Tampa, Florida, early on Wednesday.
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. A meeting with Rouhani would be "good for the country, good for them, good for us, and good for the world," he said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday also expressed his support for President Donald Trump holding talks with Iran, listing specific conditions for such discussions to occur.
Trump also criticized the past administration, saying Obama made a horrible deal giving $150 billion; giving $1.8 billion in cash — in actual cash carried out in barrels and in boxes from airplanes.
Following Trump’s proposal for a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, an adviser to President Rouhani Hamid Aboutalebi in a post on his Twitter early on Tuesday, said "respecting the Iranian nation’s rights, reducing hostilities and returning to the nuclear deal are steps that can be taken to pave the bumpy road of talks between Iran and America."
Meantime, Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said “Iran and US need to maintain a communication link even during critical situations in order to prevent the escalation of crisis.”
Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a member of the Expediency Council, also said Iran should not without preamble reject US President Trump’s comments that he’s willing to meet with President Rouhani, adding that the request should be discussed at the Supreme National Security Council first.
LR