WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian or other Iranian officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.
"I think the president is open to a meeting with him or anybody," Rubio said in an interview with Fox News when asked whether Trump would meet Pezeshkian.
"Whether something productive will come out of it, it's harder to tell because the ultimate decision-maker in Iran is the supreme leader," Rubio added.
In a separate interview with NBC's "Today" on Tuesday, Rubio reiterated that Washington was open to talks with the Iranian delegation, but said no meeting had been scheduled.
"I don't think anything is scheduled at this point," he said, adding that a meeting would be worthwhile "if it has the prospects of leading to something positive and ultimately achieving the goal of what this is all about, and that is the fact that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon."
Trump signaled Sunday that he was willing to meet Pezeshkian during the UN gathering, according to Fox News.
Pezeshkian and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are attending the annual UN gathering in New York. The United States has granted visas to Iran's "core delegation" while imposing restrictions on their movement in the city, according to the U.S. State Department. ■
