On Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the Trump administration is ready for talks with Iran without preconditions.
During a joint press conference with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Switzerland, the Secretary of State stated that “We’re prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We’re ready to sit down with them.”
Pompeo’s latest declarations came in the aftermath of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s announcement on Saturday that the Islamic Republic would be willing to do dialogue with the U.S. if the government showed respect, according to a Reuters report.
This marked a significant change of heart on Iran’s part considering that it saw “no prospect of negotiations with America” not too long ago.
However, Pompeo firmly asserted that the “American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic” will continue, based on a a transcript of the conference.
The White House placed announced additional sanctions on Iran’s steel, iron, aluminum, and sectors after the Islamic Republic declared that it would following through with certain parts of the Nuclear Deal signed in the Obama era.
Thanks to neocons in the State Department, the Trump administration has maintained a hawkish stance against Iran during the past few months.
However, this latest news on the Iran front shows that cooler heads may be prevailing when dealing with the Islamic nation. The neoconservative obsession with regime change may be on its way out. For America First advocates, this is a step in the right direction.
