Will the Iranians talk to Donald Trump?
US president says he is willing to talk to Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, but is this willingness to talk mutual?
US President Donald Trump has extended an olive branch to Iran, just a week after he threatened the country.
Trump now says he is ready to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “any time” 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 US 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