U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he's open to making a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward Iran, extending his most expansive offer yet to meet with President Hassan Rouhani and perhaps to ease restrictions so the Islamic Republic can use some of its oil wealth to access credit.
Trump's comments, at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, on Monday, echoed his initial outreach to North Korea — which has since resulted in three meetings with Kim Jong Un but no breakthrough deal. Yet movement toward face-to-face talks with Tehran would be even more politically fraught than with Pyongyang.
At a news conference before heading back to Washington, Trump said he'd meet Rouhani "if the circumstances were correct or were right" to discuss their standoff over the 2015 nuclear deal that the U.S. president abandoned. He didn't offer more details or acknowledge the political risks he'd face in trying to reach an accord.