Drops sanctions....

Iranian president says he'll only meet Trump after U.S. drops sanctions

By QUINT FORGEY

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday said he would be willing to meet with President Donald Trump only if the United States lifts its crushing economic sanctions on Tehran.

“Without the U.S.’s withdrawal from sanctions, we will not witness any positive development,” Rouhani said in a televised speech, warning: “If someone intends to make it as just a photo op with Rouhani, that is not possible.”

Rouhani’s remarks, reported by the Associated Press, contrast with comments he made on Monday, when he expressed a greater willingness to sit for talks with Trump and asserted that Tehran and Washington “should not miss opportunities” for engagement.

“If I knew that going to a meeting and visiting a person would help my country’s development and resolve the problems of the people, I would not miss it,” Rouhani said, according to the AP. “Even if the odds of success are not 90 percent but are 20 percent or 10 percent, we must move ahead with it.”

Trump on Monday signaled fresh optimism that he and Rouhani could get together within weeks to address the escalating tensions between their two countries, which have ramped up steadily since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 multinational nuclear deal with Iran last year.

"The sanctions are absolutely hurting them horribly," Trump told reporters during a news conference at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France. "I don't want to see that. But we can't let them have a nuclear weapon. So I think there is a really good chance we would meet."

French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to salvage the nuclear agreement amid a diplomatic breakdown between the U.S. and Iran, inviting Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif to the annual gathering of leaders of major industrial nations over the weekend.

"I want this meeting to happen, and I want there to be an agreement between the United States and Iran," Macron said on Monday of a potential gathering between Trump and Rouhani.