Trump says he’s ‘ready to meet’ Iran leaders without preconditions

Trump’s remarks at the White House follow his recent meetings with other high-profile U.S. strategic adversaries, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I’ll meet with anybody. I believe in meeting,” Trump said, adding: “I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet. I don’t know that they’re ready yet. They’re having a hard time right now.”

Trump praised his May decision to end U.S. participation in former President Barack Obama’s multinational nuclear deal with Iran and said that he believes he might get a better deal.

Although Obama saying he was prepared to negotiate with Iran without preconditions was a major issue in the 2008 campaign, Trump echoed the former president’s controversial remarks.

“No preconditions, no. If they want to meet, I’ll meet. Any time they want. Any time they want,” Trump said. “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 his willingness to meet is not “from strength or from weakness. I think it’s an appropriate thing to do.”

“Speaking with other people, especially when you’re talking about potentials of war and death and famine and lots of other things, you meet. There’s nothing wrong with meeting,” he said.

Trump said he considered his recent summit with Putin “a great meeting,” despite widespread shock at his expression of doubt in the conclusion of U.S. prosecutors, intelligence agencies, and congressional committees that Russia intervened in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump later said he misspoke at a press conference with Putin.

“I had a great meeting with president Putin of Russia. It was a great meeting in terms of the future, in terms of safety and economic development and protecting Israel and protecting everybody. I thought it was a great meeting,” he said.