Waltz says Trump ‘always open to a deal’ when asked about meeting Iranian president
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Monday that President Donald Trump is “always open to a deal” when asked whether the president would consider meeting with his Iranian counterpart.
“The president is always open to a deal,” Waltz told “FOX & Friends” when Brian Kilmeade asked whether Trump would be open to meeting the Iranian president.
Waltz, however, said any Iranian official sitting down with Trump would need to have the authority to negotiate on behalf of Iran’s supreme leader.
“We have to know that whether it’s the Iranian president or whomever else in their delegation, that they can speak and enter into a deal on behalf of the Ayatollah,” Waltz said.
Trump expressed openness Sunday to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian as his administration maintains economic pressure on Tehran.
Waltz also argued that mounting U.S. economic pressure on Iran has weakened Tehran’s position, declaring that “our foot is on the neck of the Iranian economy.”
The ambassador pointed to the falling Iranian currency, soaring inflation and dwindling foreign currency reserves, while saying Tehran is struggling to maintain gasoline subsidies and pay some government workers and military personnel. Waltz credited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s economic pressure campaign and said Trump does not intend to ease up on Iran.
The comments come as world leaders gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly and questions mount over whether renewed diplomacy could emerge between Washington and Tehran.
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