Mere days ago he condemned Hassan Rouhani’s ‘demented words of violence & death’ in a tweet.
One sentence in his joint press conference Monday summed up President Donald Trump’s conception of foreign relations: “I believe in meeting.”
Standing alongside Giuseppe Conte during the new Italian prime minister’s first visit to the White House, Trump listed off his list of recent “great” meetings with world leaders, including Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission as he answered a question about a possible meeting with the leader of Iran. Would Trump be willing to meet with President Hassan Rouhani?
“I will meet with anybody. I believe in meeting,” Trump said. “There’s nothing wrong with meeting.” The president added that he did not “know if they’re ready” but said he would like to meet with the Islamic Republic’s elected leader. Pressed if there would be any preconditions to such a meeting with Rouhani, Trump responded definitively: “No preconditions. If they want to meet, I’ll meet. Any time they want.”
Trump’s comments come eight days after he delivered a strongly worded tweet directed at Rouhani, which he typed in all capital letters.
The Trump administration is preparing to reinstate sanctions on Iran that were relieved under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear deal, brokered by the Obama administration. Trump campaigned against the nuclear deal and declined to recertify Iran’s compliance with it last October. Before Trump’s tweet, Rouhani publicly warned the American president not to incite war. “America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars,” Rouhani said .
The about-face in tone is typical of Trump and shows a crucial element of his approach to relations with other countries, one that emphasizes one-on-one negotiations and agreements between individual leaders. Trump’s assessment of his discussions Monday with Conte, the Italian prime minister, are also instructive. At the press conference, Trump touted a “new strategic dialogue between Italy and the United States” and pointed to “joint security efforts” in the Mediterranean region.
When Conte was asked about his impressions of Trump’s performances at the recent summits of the G7 nations and of NATO, Conte praised Trump as a “great advocate” for the United States. Trump noted that he and Italy’s new leader bonded at the G7, which took place last month in Canada and after which many leaders from the other American allies were frustrated with Trump’s pushback on trade.
“That’s where Giuseppe and I became friends,” recalled Trump of the G7 summit. “I think we were more closely aligned than anyone else in the room.”
