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Zippyjuan
09-11-2019, 03:20 PM
For those expecting a "friendlier" foreign policy with Bolton gone. Pompeo and Mnuchin have been hanging out together a lot lately.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/11/middleeast/bolton-iran-trump-pompeo-rouhani-intl-hnk/index.html


Pompeo hints that Trump could meet with Iranian President at UN meeting

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that President Donald Trump could meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, with "no preconditions."

The comments, made by Pompeo during a press briefing to announce a raft of new sanctions on groups including a unit in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards, came just hours after Trump announced the resignation of national security adviser and Iran hawk John Bolton.

Asked about the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Rouhani later this month, Pompeo, who was speaking alongside Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, said that Trump was "prepared to meet with no preconditions."

Both Trump and Rouhani are scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly in New York late September.

Mnuchin maintained that even with Bolton now out of the picture, the US would continue with its "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran. The policy aims to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons through economic and military pressure, including sanctions, following Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal last year.

Rouhani said last month there would be no meeting until economic sanctions imposed on Tehran are removed.

The resignation of Bolton, first announced by Trump on Twitter on Tuesday, was described by a senior adviser to Rouhani as a "clear sign that the US maximum pressure strategy has failed," according to state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

"The fact that John Bolton was sidelined and then eliminated isn't an accident," Hesamuddin Ashena said, and predicted that "Iran's siege will break."

Following Ashena's remarks, Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said the White House's move to oust Bolton would help the Trump administration better "understand the realities of Iran."

More at link.

Swordsmyth
09-11-2019, 04:01 PM
President Donald Trump discussed easing sanctions on Iran to help secure a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani later this month, prompting then-National Security Advisor John Bolton to argue forcefully against such a step, according to three people familiar with the matter.
After an Oval Office meeting on Monday when the idea came up, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin voiced his support for the move as a way to restart negotiations with Iran, some of the people said. Later in the day, Trump decided to oust Bolton, whose departure was announced Tuesday.

More at: https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2019/09/11/report-trump-considered-easing-sanctions-iran-two-days-ago-encourage-talks-boltons-strong-objection/