US Secretary of State: Trump Ready to Meet Ayatollah Khamenei for Negotiations

Istanbul (ANTARA) — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that President Donald Trump prefers to resolve issues with Iran through negotiations, including if Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wishes to meet with Trump.

“The president has said that his preference is to reach a deal with Iran. Even though it’s very difficult, he will try. That’s what we’re trying to do right now,” Rubio said in an interview with Bloomberg on Saturday.

Rubio said that nations need to interact with one another, while emphasizing that he works “under a president who is willing to meet with anyone.”

“I’m fairly confident in saying that if the Ayatollah (Ali Khamenei) wanted to meet with President Trump tomorrow, the president would meet with him—not because he agrees with the Ayatollah, but because he thinks that’s how you resolve problems in the world,” he added.

Responding to a question about the deployment of a second US aircraft carrier to the Middle East, Rubio affirmed that the United States will never allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons, which he described as a threat to the US, Europe, the region, and global security.

“Obviously, we want to have forces in this region because Iran has shown the willingness and capability to attack and launch strikes against the American presence in this region,” he said.

The US Secretary of State emphasized that Washington maintains bases because of their alliances in the region. “Iran has shown in the past that they are willing to attack and/or threaten our bases,” he said.

Rubio added that the US must have “enough firepower in this region to make sure that they don’t make a mistake and attack us and trigger something bigger.”