Iran rejected U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s offer this week for talks with “no pre-conditions,” with the regime’s foreign ministry calling it “word play.”
“To the Islamic Republic of Iran, a word-play … is not a criterion for action; rather, the criterion is a change in Washington’s general approach and actual behavior towards the Iranian nation,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abbas Mousavi, as reported Iranian state media.
On Sunday, Pompeo, standing alongside Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bellinzona, Switzerland, said that the United States “is ready to sit down with them. But the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue.”
Late last month, U.S. President Donald Trump showed a willingness for talks with the regime.
“I do believe that they will probably end up wanting to meet, and I’m ready to meet any time they want to,” he said. “And I don’t do that from strength or from weakness. I think it’s an appropriate thing to do. If we could work something out that’s meaningful, not the waste of paper that the other deal was, I would certainly be willing to meet.”
“No preconditions,” added Trump. “No. If they want to meet, I’ll meet. Anytime they want.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rejected the offer.
“Today’s situation is not suitable for talks, and our choice is resistance only,” he said.
