Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Will the Iranians Talk to Donald Trump? | Inside Story


U.S. President Donald Trump has extended an olive branch to Iran, just a week after he threatened the country. Trump now says he's ready to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani 'anytime' and without 'preconditions'. But his Secretary of State quickly backtracked Trump's statement, adding a few caveats to any potential meeting.

Mike Pompeo wants to see what he calls a change in behaviour from Iran before any negotiations can go ahead. Iran was also quick to set its own conditions, saying the U.S. must rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal before any talks can happen. But what's behind this sudden offer? And how will Trump engage Iran when he's trying to build a regional alliance against it?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom; Guests: Hillary Mann-Leverett - Former White House and State Department official with responsibility for Iran; Foad Izadi - Professor of World Studies at the University of Tehran; Jean-Marc Rickli - Head of Global Risk at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy