30 July 2018
Trump offers to meet leaders of Iran with ‘no preconditions’
By Bob Fredericks / Ny Post
President Donald Trump said Monday he’d welcome a meeting with the leaders of longtime US enemy Iran without any preconditions — minutes after vowing that he would never allow the Islamic theocracy to develop nuclear weapons.
“I ended the Iran [nuclear] deal. It was a ridiculous deal. I believe they will wind up wanting to meet,” Trump said from the White House during a news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
“I’m ready to meet any time they want. I think it is an appropriate thing to do. 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,” he continued.
“No preconditions. They want to meet, I’ll meet, any time they want, any time they want. Good for the country. Good for the world. No preconditions. If they want to meet, I’ll meet.”
Earlier, the commander-in-chief warned that Iran must “never be allowed” to possess nuclear weapons.
Trump had zeroed in on the threat posed by Iran in recent weeks, focusing on Tehran instead of the dangers posed by North Korea or Russia.
That included a searing all-caps tweet earlier this month after what seemed like a mundane warning from Iran about a possible armed conflict.
“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!” the president raged on Twitter on July 22.
Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, who wields enormous power in Iran, fired back at the president in a mocking speech.
“It is beneath the dignity of our president to respond to you. I, as a soldier, respond to you,” Suleimani said in a speech reported by state-run media.
“You threaten us with an action that is ‘unprecedented’ in the world. This is cabaret-style rhetoric. Only a cabaret owner talks to the world this way.”
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