Donald Trump says ready to meet Iranian President under 'correct' circumstances

Amid the ongoing tensions with Iran, United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that he was ready to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani if the circumstances were "correct." 

"If the circumstances were correct, I would certainly agree to that," he said at the G7 summit in France, where President Emmanuel Macron attempted to defuse the tensions between Tehran and Washington by hosting Iran's foreign minister for talks.

Hinting at a major diplomatic shift, the US President even said that talks with Rouhani within weeks sound realstic. The remarks from the Trump came during the ongoing G7 Summit in French city of Biarritz.

The statement also came after French President Emmanuel Macron's remark claiming that the conditions for a meeting between Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart has been created and the summit could take place in next few weeks.

Earlier this month, Rouhani had said that Tehran favours talks with Washington but the United States must first lift sanctions it imposed on the Islamic Republic.

RELATED

"The Islamic Republic of Iran favours talks and negotiations and, if the US really wants to talk, before anything else it should lift all sanctions," Rouhani said in remarks aired live on state television.

Rouhani, speaking at the foreign ministry after meeting with his top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said Iran was ready for talks regardless of whether or not the US was party to a landmark nuclear deal.

"Whether they want to come into the JCPOA or not, it's up to them," said Rouhani, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 

Tensions between Iran and its arch-foe the United States have soared since Trump announced last year that the US was withdrawing from the deal and began reimposing sanctions against the Islamic republic. The nuclear deal set limits on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for the removal of punitive economic sanctions.

(With inputs from PTI)