Trump: The situation in Iran is very bad, they want to talk

The President of the United States stated in a conversation with reporters at the White House that his withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran has had widespread negative consequences for Tehran and "they want to talk." Donald Trump, on January 6, before heading to Camp David, had a brief discussion regarding various issues, part of which pertained to Iran. The U.S. President said, "The situation in Iran is very bad." Trump stated, "When I ended the terrible nuclear deal, it had widespread consequences for Iran. They are withdrawing all their military forces from various areas [outside Iran's borders]. Their situation is not good. They want to talk." However, the U.S. President did not provide further explanation or additional details. Trump has been a staunch critic of the nuclear agreement both during the U.S. election campaign and after winning the presidential election. From his perspective, the agreement, which was established during Barack Obama's presidency, did not prevent the "destructive" and "destabilizing" activities of the Islamic Republic and did not stop missile tests or what Washington calls "state-sponsored terrorism." Trump exited the JCPOA last spring and reinstated extensive U.S. sanctions against Tehran. His administration has also imposed new sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Washington is demanding a "change in behavior" from Iran and a return to the negotiating table. On the other hand, Tehran has accused the U.S. government of "violating" its commitments under the JCPOA. Islamic Republic officials have not yet expressed any willingness to negotiate. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated in August this year that he had "made a mistake" regarding nuclear negotiations and banned talks with the United States. However, he added in part of his speech, without providing specific details, that "the Islamic Republic can negotiate with America whenever it reaches a power level that the pressure and bluster of the U.S. will not affect it." Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the consequences of his administration's exit from the JCPOA on Iran's economic situation. On January 2, he stated that the Islamic Republic is not yet ready to negotiate with the U.S. but "they will be ready." On Sunday, in another part of his conversation with reporters, he addressed the issue of Syria and stated, "When I was elected as President of the United States, ISIS was spread all over Syria and Iraq. I destroyed them... and I did this for various reasons; we really don’t want them to end up here [in America] and there are other reasons" that the U.S. is engaged in battle against the Islamic State group. Trump also stated that the U.S. supports other countries in the fight against ISIS. The U.S. President told reporters, "Iran hates ISIS more than we do, if that’s possible. Russia hates ISIS more than we do. Turkey hates ISIS, maybe not as much as we do. But these are countries that hate ISIS." Donald Trump has called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria. This has led to reactions and has also resulted in the critical resignation of his Defense Secretary, James Mattis. However, Trump stated that he does not want to leave U.S. allies defenseless in Syria and emphasized that the withdrawal of U.S. forces will be done "intelligently." John Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor, announced yesterday that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria will occur at a slower pace, conditional on the defeat of the remaining elements of the Islamic State (ISIS) and obtaining "guarantees" from Turkey to refrain from attacking the Syrian Kurds. He has traveled to Turkey and Israel to negotiate about Syria, Iran, and regional issues.