US not seeking regime change in Iran: Trump

By Beyza Binnur Donmez and Vakkas Dogantekin

ANKARA (AA) - Washington is not seeking a leadership change in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday.

Trump said his administration wants to see an Iran without nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

His words were delivered during a news conference at the G7 summit in the coastal town of Biarritz, France.

Trump said countries involved in the Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, including France, will one day thank him for the U.S. walking out of the agreement.

However, Iran is a country with “tremendous potential,” like North Korea, and her expressed hope for many good things to come very soon.

The nuclear accord was signed in 2015 between Iran and Russia, China, France, the U.K. and the U.S., along with Germany.

Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal last year, however, and intensified pressure on Tehran by re-imposing sanctions targeting its energy and banking sectors.

Under the agreement, the world’s major powers promised to lift economic sanctions imposed on Iran in return for Tehran agreeing to limit its nuclear activity to peaceful and civilian purposes.

In June, Iran sharply criticized world powers for not fulfilling their promises and threatened to abandon parts of the deal.

Turning to China, he responded to question on "unclear messages" he is sending regarding trade talks and said "it is the way I negotiate."

Trump praised his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s leadership Monday amid an escalating trade war between the two countries. His praise of the Chinese president came only days after his administration announced a tariff increase on $550 billion worth of Chinese imports in the latest escalation between Washington and Beijing.

He said he would like to host the host G7 summit in 2020 at one of his properties. His presidency costs a fortune to host but he is not doing this for money but the U.S., he said.