One hopes the president will remember that appearances can be deceiving.
Well, apparently we are all pals now. In an interview that was published Wednesday, President Donald Trump spoke optimistically about a blossoming friendship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“They say Ayatollah is giving approval in talks,” Trump said, adding confidently that he “will probably meet with Iran’s Ayatollah at some point.” Trump explained that “the Iran situation is rapidly evolving — will be very good.”
So good, in fact, that the president envisions a future summit meeting between himself and his opposite number in Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ostensible supreme leader, the Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. “I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him,” Trump said blandly of the man who at least officially heads up the regime that has repeatedly threatened and called for his assassination, and has even attempted to murder him itself.
Trump alluded to the reports that Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard in public since he was named supreme leader in February, has suffered severe facial disfigurement along with losing a leg: “If you believe the stories, he’s missing a lot of different parts.” Nonetheless, Trump was confident that Khamenei was indeed alive and in charge: “They say he is giving approval, because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time. His father and then him, I guess it’s a succession.”
Above all, at least to hear the president tell it, he and Mojtaba Khamenei are getting along like a house a-fire: “But we seem to be getting along quite well.” Asked if he would be willing to meet Iran’s supremo, Trump replied: “Yeah, I’d like to meet him. I’d love to meet everybody. I would like to meet him, and we probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”
Meanwhile, in a tense give-and-take with Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Cal.), Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed up his boss, insisting that the operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran had been successfully concluded: “We’re no longer conducting sustained strikes inside of Iran to degrade their military, because Epic Fury is over,” Rubio said. “The second point, as on the question of who won, I can tell you this: We define victory. We define victory as destroying their defense industrial base, significantly reducing the number of missile launchers that they possess, significantly reducing their stockpile of drones, and we achieved all those, in addition to destroying what they had left of an air force and wiping out their entire conventional navy. Those are all gone. So, I consider that victory, and we did, too. And that was the purpose of Epic Fury.” --->READ MORE HERE
U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon and that he would probably meet with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at some point if things "work out".
"They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told "Pod Force One" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, while speaking about Iran.
Asked about Khamenei's involvement in talks with the U.S. on ending hostilities, Trump said, "He's involved, absolutely. ... I think they have a lot of respect for him."
Trump said he was hearing Iran's leader was not doing too well but was giving his approval during the negotiations. Trump added that he had not had "the privilege of meeting" Khamenei.
"I'd like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out," Trump said.
The U.S. president said he viewed the Iran war as a success because the country's military had been defeated. The conflict, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, has upended the global energy market and has proven unpopular with Americans months before November congressional elections.
"Iran's a big success," Trump said in the interview. "We'll see what happens. We're going to, we're working on a deal, and that happens fine. If it doesn't happen, that's OK too. We'll do it the other way." --->READ MORE HERE
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