US President Donald Trump claims he wants to see a strong Iran and that he is not seeking regime change in Tehran.
Trump made the remarks Monday in Biarritz, France, where he was meeting with other leaders of the G7 group.
“I'm looking at a really good Iran, really strong, we’re not looking for regime change,” he told reporters.
He also said he was not surprised that Paris had invited Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
“I knew he was coming in and I respected the fact that he was coming in. And we’re looking to make Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well, if they want,” he said.
Earlier this month, Trump chastised French President Emmanuel Macron for sending Iran “mixed signals” when he told Macron that no one was authorized to act in the role of mediator between the US and Iran.
It was not immediately clear what Trump was referring to, but a report showed Macron had invited Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the G7 summit to meet Trump.
Meanwhile, Zarif, who arrived in Biarritz on Sunday at the official invitation of his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, continued consultations on the recent initiatives proposed by Rouhani and Macron.
According to a French presidency official, Zarif and his French counterpart discussed what conditions would de-escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Tensions between Iran and the US increased after Trump unilaterally withdrew from the multilateral deal with Tehran in May 2018 and has since been following what he calls a campaign of “maximum pressure” on the country.
The situation deteriorated especially after several oil tankers were suspiciously targeted near the Persian Gulf last month, with Washington and its staunch regional ally Saudi Arabia quickly blaming Iran for the suspicious attacks. However, Iran has denied all the charges warning neighbors against false flags by “foreign players.”
Trump also said Monday that “what we want is very simple. It's got to be non-nuclear. We’re going to talk about ballistic missiles, we’re going to talk about the timing.”
Iran says that its missiles are absolutely and under no condition negotiable with anyone, any country or for any period.