President Donald Trump said Thursday he would be "honored" to meet Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei [1].

The statement signals a potential shift toward direct diplomatic engagement between the U.S. and Iran during a period of active conflict. Such a meeting would mark a significant departure from traditional diplomatic protocols regarding the Iranian leadership.

Trump made the comments June 3, 2026 [1], in a statement from the Oval Office and during an interview with "Pod Force One" [2]. He framed the potential meeting as a component of diplomatic negotiations, specifically linking the possibility to the resolution of current hostilities.

"I don't want to meet, but if I did meet, I'd be honored to meet him," Trump said [3].

While the president expressed a willingness to meet if a deal to end the war was reached [4], other reports from the "Pod Force One" interview suggest he expects a meeting and believes the two leaders are getting along quite well [5]. This contrast in framing reflects a strategy of balancing conditional diplomacy with personal optimism.

Trump has previously emphasized his desire to negotiate deals to stabilize the region. By expressing a willingness to meet with the new supreme leader, the president is positioning himself as the primary negotiator in the effort to end the war [4].

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei recently assumed the role of supreme leader, and the U.S. response to his leadership will likely dictate the trajectory of Middle East relations for the remainder of the term [1].

“"I don't want to meet, but if I did meet, I'd be honored to meet him."”

This openness to a summit suggests a high-stakes diplomatic gamble. By conditioning the meeting on a deal to end the war, the U.S. administration is attempting to use the prestige of a face-to-face meeting as leverage to secure concessions from Tehran. However, the conflicting reports regarding the current rapport between Trump and Khamenei indicate a fluid diplomatic environment where personal chemistry is being weighed against formal policy goals.