TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran reacted skeptically Tuesday to President Donald Trump's remarks that he's willing to negotiate with his Iranian counterpart "anytime," but top officials did not reject a sit-down out of hand.
Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a senior cleric and member of the influential Expediency Council, said Trump's suggestion Monday that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani should not be categorically rejected.
"It should be discussed in the Supreme National Security Council," said Nategh Nouri, who is also a former aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nategh Nouri said the Iranians "have to contemplate" the gesture, but he also cautioned that they "should not rejoice over this offer and not get excited."
"Trump may take advantage of this over-excitement," he said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. "It could be a test for us."
Trump earlier this year pulled the U.S. out of a deal with Iran and several other countries that was meant to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. He's said that as renewed sanctions kick in, he expects Iran will call and offer to return to the negotiating table, adding that "we're ready to make a real deal."
On Monday, he said he could meet with the Iranians with "no preconditions," adding that "if they want to meet, I'll meet anytime they want."
Former President Barack Obama held a brief phone call with Rouhani in 2013 as the talks that led up to the nuclear deal were getting underway. It was the first time the presidents of the two countries had spoken since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the storming of the U.S. Embassy, which led to the severing of diplomatic ties.
Rouhani on Tuesday did not mention Trump's comments, instead stressing the need for the other nations involved in the nuclear deal to forge ahead with their pledges of trying to salvage it.
"Today we are at a very critical point in history regarding the nuclear deal, and Europe's transparent measures to compensate for the United States' unlawful withdrawal from it are very important for the Iranian nation," Rouhani said after talks with new British Ambassador Rob Macaire.
Britain, China, Germany, France, Russia and the European Union are negotiating with Iran in an attempt to preserve the deal.
In Washington, a senior State Department official said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had no plans to meet with Iran's foreign minister if they both participate at an Asian security forum in Singapore later this week. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss Pompeo's schedule, said there were "no plans for any engagement with Iran" at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum.
Pompeo will be in Singapore for the forum and related events on Friday and Saturday.
There had been speculation that such a meeting might be in the works. On Monday, Pompeo met with Oman's foreign minister in Washington ahead of the trip to Singapore. Oman, which has good ties with both Washington and Tehran, has served as a facilitator of previous talks between the U.S. and Iran, notably during the Obama administration.
The Iranian leadership previously ruled out one-on-one talks with Trump after his decision to pull the U.S. out of the deal under which Iran was given relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
Trump withdrew from the accord in May, saying it was too generous to Iran. He has vowed to ramp up sanctions until Iran radically changes its policies, including its support for the Syrian government and regional militant groups, something the country's leaders have long refused to do.
Even though Trump said there would be "no preconditions" to talks with Rouhani, he also did not walk back from any of those earlier demands.
With more U.S. sanctions set to take effect Monday, the economy in Iran has already been hit, giving rise to growing fears of prolonged economic suffering. Another round of sanctions, covering other types of commerce, including oil purchases, goes into effect Nov. 4.
Rouhani on Tuesday again suggested Iran could cause major disruptions in the Persian Gulf region by attempting to block key shipping lanes.
"Iran has never sought tensions in the region and does not want there to be any problem for the world's waterways, but it will never let go of its right to export oil," the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported.
With the U.S. sanctions looming, the Iranian currency has been in free fall, hitting a new low Monday. It recovered slightly on Tuesday, but concerns are growing as Iranians have seen their savings dwindle and purchasing power drop.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, who leads the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, suggested a U.S. return to the nuclear deal would be needed before Tehran could think of negotiating.
"There can be no negotiations with the Americans raising the issue of talks from the position of power," he was quoted as saying on the Iranian parliament website. He called Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal the "biggest blow to diplomacy."
Information for this article was contributed by Matthew Lee of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/01/2018