Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion regarding a possible meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, saying the issue should be approached realistically.
“I saw a report which apparently said that Trump said he was ready for a meeting or wanted to hold a meeting. But I think we should be realistic and think and live in the real world,” Araghchi said, as per the report by Al Jazeera.
Trump’s remark on meeting Mojtaba Khamenei
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would be willing to meet Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if it helped secure a deal with Tehran, stating that he would be “honoured” and would act “respectfully,” while also acknowledging that he is “not his favourite person,” according to Iran International.
“I don’t want to meet, but if I did meet, I’d be honored to meet him. I’d like to see if we make a deal, but if we make a deal, it’s possible that I would meet him. I’d be okay with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I haven’t really heard too much about it. I didn’t suggest it (a meeting), but some people have suggested it. If it happened, it would be happening. I’d be respectful. I would say I’m not his favorite person, but with that being said, he’s probably a professional. In some circles he has a very good reputation, actually.”
US-Iran war
Trump on Friday once again downplayed concerns over rising oil prices, which have driven up gasoline costs since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
He told reporters, “People thought it was going to be a lot worse. “Today I looked at $96 a barrel, people thought that was going to be $300 a barrel.”
Araghchi said on Friday that there had been “no tangible progress” in the talks, though both sides were still exchanging messages via mediators.
Meanwhile, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed no commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz was observed on Friday morning, following three passages in each direction recorded on Thursday.
With no breakthrough in sight, the standoff indicates that Iranian leaders believe they can withstand the pressure, betting that increasing public opposition to the war among American voters, just months before elections that will determine control of Congress, could compel Trump to moderate some of his goals.
