(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said he doesn't plan to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the United Nations General Assembly this week, while leaving open the possibility that he might.
“Nothing is ever off the table completely, but I have no intention of meeting with Iran,” the U.S. president told reporters at the White House on Sunday. “That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I'm a very flexible person. But we have no intention. It's not set up.”
Trump had talked up the possibility of meeting Rouhani until the attack this month on Saudi oil fields, which the U.S. administration has blamed on Iran, which has denied involvement. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif refused in a CBS interview to rule out military conflict in the Middle East after the U.S. sent more troops and weapons to Saudi Arabia in response to last week's attack.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday it's doubtful that Trump and Rouhani would meet at the UN sessions that begin on Monday in New York.
“The president has always said he'd leave the door open but it's highly unlikely given the current circumstances,” Mnuchin said in a CNN interview.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net;Saleha Mohsin in Washington at smohsin2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka, Steve Geimann
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