Trump: I hope everything goes well between us and Iran

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, expressed hope on Thursday, August 2, that matters between Iran and the U.S. would progress positively. Trump, who was in Pennsylvania to support a Republican Senate candidate, criticized the Iran nuclear deal known as the JCPOA once again during his speech. The U.S. President stated, 'I withdrew America from the terrible, very costly nuclear deal with Iran that was ineffective. I hope everything goes well between us and Iran. But I tell you, (Iran) is a very different country now compared to four months ago.' Trump made these remarks following his proposal on Monday, where he stated he was ready to meet with Iranian officials and had 'no preconditions' for such a meeting. This is the second time since then that the U.S. President has spoken about his approach towards Iran. On Tuesday, Trump also mentioned, 'I feel they will soon engage in dialogue with us. They might not, and that's okay too.' Trump's proposal for a meeting with the leaders of the Islamic Republic has received mixed reactions, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have yet to respond to this offer. Meanwhile, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard responded by stating that Trump and future U.S. presidents 'will never see such a day' and that 'the people of Iran will not allow a meeting with the Great Satan.' Mohammad Ali Jafari also emphasized, 'Iran is not North Korea that would respond positively to your request for a meeting,' and that the officials of the Islamic Republic 'are well aware of your deceptive scenarios and have experienced them many times.' This position was met with a reaction from Ali Motahari, the Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, who wrote in a letter to Jafari on Thursday, August 2, that Revolutionary Guard commanders must abide by the decisions of the system's senior officials regarding negotiations or lack thereof with the U.S. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran in May and on the verge of reinstating Washington's sanctions against Tehran, the verbal war between the presidents of the two countries has entered a new phase in recent weeks. Trump has called the JCPOA 'ridiculous' and 'the worst deal' and stated that he seeks a good agreement for Iran, the U.S., and the world. The U.S. claims it wants to renegotiate regarding Iran's nuclear and missile programs as well as its actions in the region. Iran has previously stated it is not willing to renegotiate the JCPOA or add amendments to it.