The United States is calming down fears of another conflict in the broader Middle East with the top American diplomat’s latest statement that holds out the possibility of Washington holding talks with Iran without any preconditions.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement that the U.S. is prepared to talk to Tehran represents President Donald Trump’s preference for a diplomatic solution to nuclear tensions as opposed to war as reportedly proposed by his National Security Adviser John Bolton.
“We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them,” Pompeo said in Switzerland.
At the same time, Pompeo, speaking at a Press Conference noted that “the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic Republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue.”
Trump has pulled Washington out of a 2015 Iran nuclear deal that waived sanctions against Iran in return for its compliance on not going for development of nuclear weapons. Iran has been a major player in the Middle Eastern conflicts including Iraq, Syria and Yemen, where it fights to defeat regional rival Saudi Arabia.
Under President Trump, the U,S-Saudi Arabia relationship has come out of a cold phase that set in under President Obama.
Meanwhile, Iran-Israeli animosity has been going on, with Tel Aviv working to keep taps on Iranian nuclear capability.
Trump has said a new nuclear deal with Iran – that addresses American concerns – is possible.
In his remarks, Pompeo said Washington would be “certainly prepared to have that conversation when the Iranians can prove that they want to behave like a normal nation.”
Iran, meanwhile, has discounted the possibility of talks with the United States. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif saw the talks as “not very likely,” since the U.S. backing out of its 2015 deal commitment does not inspire confidence.
“People think twice before they talk to the United States because they know what they agree to today may not hold tomorrow.”
This week, the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed a vote of confidence in Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that continues to have the backing of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
