US President Donald Trump has refused to rule out easing of illegal sanctions on Iran amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.
He made the comments alongside his wife, Melania, at an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday.
“We’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. I think Iran has the potential and I think North Korea – those are two countries we’re dealing with right now at a very high level,” claimed the US president. “I think Iran has a tremendous potential. They’re incredible people. We’re not looking for regime change. We hope that we can make a deal and if we can’t make a deal that’s fine too. OK? That’s fine too. But, I think they have to make a deal.”
Trump’s comments came after he sacked his hawkish national security advisor, John Bolton, who had been dreaming of a war on Iran for years.
Oil prices reportedly fell more than two percent after the president made the comments.
Despite the latest statement, the US president maintained his anti-Iran tone, falsely accusing Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons.
“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and they never will have a nuclear weapon,” he claimed. “If they are thinking about enrichment, they can forget about it. Because it’s going to be very dangerous for them to enrich. Very, very dangerous, okay?”
Since he pulled the United States out of a 2015 deal under which Iran, Trump has started a “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic.
In response, Iran has scaled back some of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Source: Agenceis
