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It is possible that Trump's position has just changed. Journalists, however, reported on the position he and his officials had repeatedly expressed over the past 14 months.
The facts first: Trump said in June 2019 and July 2018 that he would meet Iran "without preconditions". Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the same thing five days before this tweet.
Trump has consistently accused the media of "false news" for accurate reporting.
Here is a chronology of cases in which Trump and senior administration officials stated that he was willing to meet Iran without preconditions:
July 30, 2018: At a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Trump said about Iran: "I think that they will probably end up wanting to meet and I am ready to meet at any time. " When asked if he would have any prerequisites for a meeting, Trump replied, "No prerequisites." No. "If they want to meet, I'll meet them whenever they want." It's good for the country, good for them, good for us and good for the world.No prerequisite.If they want to meet, I will meet. "
July 31, 2018White House press officer Hogan Gidley was questioned: "Is the president still willing to meet the Iranian leader, no preconditions?" Gidley said, "It has not changed, but he has made it clear what he wants from Iran, which is to end his destabilization efforts, to become the biggest sponsor of terrorism to the world. "
June 2, 2019: We are ready to start a conversation without preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them. But American efforts to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, will continue. "
June 23, 2019: Trump said that he was not looking for war but that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon. He added, "Do you want to talk? Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press" on NBC, asked him "No prerequisites?" Trump replied, "Not in my case, no prerequisite."
June 23, 2019Vice President Mike Pence told CNN's Jake Tapper, "The President of the United States has made it clear that we are ready to talk to Iran without preconditions."
August 28, 2019Gidley told Fox News: "Well, listen, he has made it clear that he wants to have conversations with Iranian leaders without preconditions, he has been very clear about this, and he has been clear in the G7 But the fact is that Iran is subject to a maximum pressure campaign from this president because of his perverse behavior of several decades. "
September 10, 2019At a press conference, Mnuchin and Pompeo said at one point that Trump was willing to meet Iran without "preconditions".
"I think you know we have imposed more sanctions on Iran than anyone, and it works." The president made it clear that he was happy to attend a meeting without preconditions, but we maintain the maximum pressure campaign, "said Mnuchin.
When Pompeo asked whether he could schedule a meeting between Trump and the Iranian leader this month around the UN General Assembly, Pompeo said, "Of course."
"The president has made it clear that he is prepared not to meet any preconditions," he said.
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