Trump’s main condition in first term was a personal meeting, ex-president says

Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s main condition for reviving the nuclear agreement during his first term was a personal meeting with him, an offer Rouhani claims he was willing to accept.

“There was a path to resolve the issue with Trump in 2018. It was difficult, but there was a way,” Rouhani said in comments reported by Iranian outlet Roydad24. “Trump didn’t care much about the other conditions. He just wanted to meet me.”

Rouhani, who served as president from 2013 to 2021, said he told Iranian officials at the time that he was prepared to meet Trump and take responsibility if the meeting failed. “Let me meet him. If it fails, I will take the blame—for the sake of the country and the people,” he said. “But it didn’t happen.”

Rouhani also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of playing a key role in pushing Trump to withdraw from the deal. “Netanyahu has even written in his memoirs that he persuaded Trump to leave the agreement,” Rouhani said. “Israel wants war and is trying to convince the U.S. to join it.”

He added that during his administration, diplomatic efforts helped avert possible military conflict under both President George W. Bush and Trump. “In 2003, we were close to war, but we avoided it through negotiation. In 2013, we reached the Geneva interim deal within100 days of starting talks,” Rouhani recalled.