Trump says US inclined for talks if Iran is too

TEHRAN (defapress) – With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his side, Trump told reporters at Akasaka Palace on Monday that Washington would hold talks with Iran if Iran would like to do so, as well.

News ID: 77561

Date: 27 May 2019 - 11:16

US President Donald Trump said he and Japanese Prime Minister have talked about Iran amid rising tension between Tehran and Washington, AP reported.

The US president also said that “nobody wants to see terrible things happen, especially me.”

“I do believe Iran would like to talk and if they’d like to talk, we’ll talk also,” Trump said at the meeting with the Japanese prime minister, adding that Abe has a “very good relationship with Iran.”

Meanwhile, Iran has repeatedly rejected any direct and indirect talks with the United States, saying Washington's hostile policies and its penchant for violating commitments and exerting pressure and imposing sanctions on Iran make the idea of negotiations senseless.

According to Japanese media, Abe is considering a visit to Iran next month. The Kyodo News agency, citing unidentified government sources, said on Friday that Abe’s visit would be likely in mid-June.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on the same day that media speculations about the date of Abe's visit to Tehran are not true.

“Iran and Japan enjoy historic and friendly relations, there have always been dialogues between officials of the two countries ... President Rouhani has already invited PM Shinzo Abe for an official Tehran visit and he has responded that the visit will be made at the appropriate time,” said Mousavi.

Earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Tokyo.

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