WASHINGTON/TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would be open to meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei if the two sides reach a peace deal.
"I don't want to meet. But if I did meet, I'd be honored to meet him. I'd like to see if we make a deal, but if we make a deal, it's possible that I would meet him. I'd be okay with it," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"I would say I'm not his favorite person, but with that being said, he's probably a professional," Trump said. "In some circles he has a very good reputation, actually."
Asked if such a meeting could happen in the US, Trump said: "I haven't really heard too much about it. I didn't suggest it, but some people have suggested it."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that he believes Iran's new supreme leader is alive and is "increasingly engaging" in the ongoing US-Iran talks.
"I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries," Rubio told lawmakers at a Senate hearing.
Unity urged against 'enemy's' hybrid warfare
In a message carried by Iranian media on the 37th passing anniversary of the late founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the religious holiday of Eid al-Ghadir, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called on the country's people to maintain unity and solidarity in the face of the "enemy's" hybrid warfare.
He said the global hegemonic system, led by the United States, does not accept the existence of a "strong and independent" Iran and "spares no effort to prevent the country's progress".
Khamenei added that the "enemy", which has been defeated by the Iranian armed forces and faced a "decisive blow" on the battlefield and beyond, "is experiencing a meaningful and profound humiliation that has led to countries' tangible divergence from it".
Its main tool, he said, is to "sow the seeds of doubt, despair, fear, suspicion, and discord" among the Iranian people.
Khamenei called on the public to foil these plots through resistance and insightfulness, maintaining their unity, solidarity, and mutual trust.
Attacks on Lebanon
In a statement on its official outlet Sepah News, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said Israel must immediately stop its attacks against the Lebanese people and withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.
The IRGC reaffirmed that Iran's primary condition for accepting the April 8 truce with the United States and Israel was a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon.
The development came as Israel and Hezbollah traded fresh fire on Thursday despite that Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a ceasefire after trilateral negotiations in Washington.
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The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the withdrawal of all Hezbollah members from areas south of the Litani River.
