Iran Rejects Prospect of Trump Meeting Supreme Leader

Tehran- Iran on Friday dismissed the possibility of a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, after Trump said he would like to hold talks with Tehran’s top authority.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the idea was unrealistic, responding to Trump’s recent remarks that the two leaders could meet in the future depending on how events unfold.

“I think we should be realistic and think and live in the real world,” Araghchi told Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen television.

Trump told the New York Post on Wednesday that he would like to meet Khamenei and suggested such a meeting could eventually take place.

Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s supreme leader in March following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.

Araghchi said the new supreme leader remains fully engaged in state affairs despite not appearing publicly since his appointment. He attributed the absence to security concerns linked to the conflict that erupted earlier this year.

Iran and the United States have held both direct and mediated talks since a ceasefire took effect on April 8, but negotiations have yet to produce a lasting settlement to the conflict.