WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is participating in negotiations to end the ongoing war and that he would like to meet with him.
In an interview broadcast Wednesday on “Pod Force One,” Trump said Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since the conflict began, is giving his approval to the talks despite being unwell.
“They’ve already agreed they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. He added, “I’d like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”
Khamenei has only addressed the nation through written statements read by television anchors since the war started. U.S. officials have claimed he was incapacitated or undergoing treatment for severe injuries sustained in the same bombing that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war.
The conflict began Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes. It has disrupted global energy markets and grown increasingly unpopular with Americans ahead of November’s congressional elections.
Trump called the war a success because Iran’s military had been defeated. “Iran’s a big success,” he said. “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.”
He did not elaborate on the alternative approach but has previously said the U.S. would resume strikes if necessary.
