WEB DESK / AGENCIES
US President Donald Trump has said that he is ‘open to talks’ with the Iranian leadership, amid mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran. He was talking to media persons at the White House in Washington yesterday.
“What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me,” Trump told reporters Thursday at the White House, a day after he slapped Iran with new sanctions.
Shortly after Trump spoke, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a written statement that reinforced Trump’s friendly tone. After repeating the administration’s complaints about Iranian misbehavior, including what he called “40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities and taking American hostages,” Pompeo appealed to “those in Tehran who see a path to a prosperous future” through modifying the regime’s behavior.
Earlier, on Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would no longer implement parts of the deal.
Meanwhile, Russia has denounced new US sanctions on Iran’s mining industry and called for talks to preserve the nuclear deal with Tehran.
In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said, they strongly condemn the new package of sanctions introduced by the United States which is affecting the mining industry in Iran.