Trump open to meeting Iran's leaders

DUBAI - US President Donald Trump has said he is open to meeting Iran's supreme leader or president as the two countries began talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

Following a meeting last week to outline a framework for a potential nuclear deal, which a US official described as yielding "very good progress", Trump told Time magazine, in an April 22 interview published on Friday: "I think we're going to make a deal with Iran."

Asked whether he was open to meeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, Trump replied: "Sure."

Trump, who in 2018 pulled the US out of a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers, has warned of military action against Iran unless a new deal is swiftly reached to prevent it developing nuclear weapons.

When asked if the US would join a war against Iran should Israel take action, he responded: "I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack."

Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal's limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy programme.