Trump switches tone on Iran, raising hopes at G7

[ahlam1399]

BIARRITZ, France: US President Donald Trump said Monday he had agreed to the Iranian foreign minister flying in for a G7 summit and insisted he was not seeking regime change in Tehran -- a change of tone that could lower tensions.Mohammad Javad Zarif made a surprise appearance at the summit in Biarritz on Sunday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking to broker a deal between Iran and the United States. Zarif also met with French and other European diplomats, but Trump said it was "too soon" for him to meet Zarif. "I knew everything he (Macron) was doing and I approved everything he was doing," Trump said, adding that the French president "asked for my approval".In early August, Trump lambasted Macron for sending "mixed signals" on Iran, and at the end of July the US administration imposed sanctions on Zarif.Trump has put in place a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme via crippling sanctions that are seen as raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East.The US president last year unilaterally pulled out of a landmark 2015 international deal that placed limits on Tehran´s nuclear activities in exchange for trade, investment and sanctions relief."I believe that for our country´s national interests we must use any tool," Iran´s President Hassan Rouhani said of Zarif´s Biarritz visit in a speech aired live on state television on Monday. But hardliners criticised the initiative, with the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspaper saying the trip was "improper" and sent "a message of weakness and desperation."Trump, who is to give a press conference before returning to Washington on Monday, proclaimed Sunday that the G7 summit was going "beautifully". The G7 is an elite club of rich democracies comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.On the Iranian issue, Trump said that there was "great unity" and that "we´ve come to a conclusion, more or less."Commenting on his escalating trade war with China, Trump said Chinese officials had made contact on Saturday night to propose talks. "I can say we are having very meaningful talks, much more meaningful, I would say, than at any time," he said at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel."It´s because we are doing very well... they are losing millions and millions of jobs, they´re going to other countries and if I was them, I´d want to make a deal," he said.European leaders have lined up to urge caution and warn about the danger of recession from the conflict.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/gLau6BFhmBg

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