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Trump, Pompeo give new priority to diplomacy with Iran

While many see a shift in tone rather than substance, the diplomatic channel seems to be heating up.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis attend a joint news conference at the medieval Castelgrande castle in Bellinzona, Switzerland June 2, 2019.  REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann - RC12BFE3FFB0

WASHINGTON — In a sign of President Donald Trump’s growing impatience with stalled nuclear diplomacy with Iran and North Korea, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo generated headlines when he offered Sunday to hold talks with Iran without any preconditions, even as he subsequently insisted that the position was not a new one.

“We’re prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions,” Pompeo told journalists at a press availability with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis in Bellinzona, Switzerland, on Sunday. “We’re ready to sit down with them.”

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