Donald Trump said Thursday he would be honored to meet with Iran's supreme leader if a deal is made to end the war [1].
This potential diplomatic opening comes as the region remains gripped by conflict, suggesting a shift toward direct negotiation between the former U.S. president and the new Iranian leadership.
Trump addressed the possibility of a meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran, during comments made on June 4 [1]. He said that he could meet the leader if the purpose was to establish a formal agreement [2].
"I would be honored to meet with Iran's supreme leader if a deal is made to end the war," Trump said [3].
While the former president expressed a willingness to negotiate, he also touched upon the personal nature of the relationship with the Iranian leadership. He said that he is likely not the favorite person of the supreme leader, though he described Khamenei as probably being a professional [4].
Reports on the timing and motivation of these comments vary across sources. Some reports suggest these statements follow a period of personal loss for Trump [5], while other primary reports focus exclusively on the strategic goal of ending the current war [1, 2, 3].
Trump has previously maintained a hardline stance toward Tehran, but his current rhetoric emphasizes the necessity of a deal as a prerequisite for any high-level summit [2].
“"I would be honored to meet with Iran's supreme leader if a deal is made to end the war."”
The willingness of a former U.S. president to engage with Iran's new supreme leader signals a potential pivot toward transactional diplomacy. By conditioning a meeting on a pre-existing deal to end the war, Trump is positioning the summit as a reward for diplomatic concessions rather than a starting point for negotiations.
