WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump left the door open Wednesday tomeeting with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of theUN General Assembly — even as the United States ramps up the pressure on aregime it accuses of destabilizing the Middle East.

“It s possible, anything is possible,” Trump told reporters in the OvalOffice when asked about the possibility of a face-to-face with Rouhaniduring the gathering later this month.

“We ll see what happens with Iran. Whether they want to talk or not, that sup to them, not up to me,” said the US leader, who decided in May to pullout of the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran.

“Iran is a much different place than when I took over the presidency,”Trump added, describing the country as “in turmoil.”

“When I took office it was just a question of how long until they took overthe entire Middle East. Now they are just worrying about their own survivalas a country.”

Trump is due to lead September 26 meeting of heads of state of the UNSecurity Council, with the goal of ramping up pressure on Tehran over itsalleged violations of council resolutions. – APP/AFP