President Trump argued that the Iranians “want to talk. They want to make a deal… when I came into office, Iran was absolutely a terrorist organisation, all over – from fourteen to eighteen sites of confliction, and they were behind every one of them. And now you’re not hearing so much about that”. He also indicated that “we’re not dealing through [French] President Macron. People are dealing with us directly. We don’t have to go through another country”. The Iranians, Trump added, had ruled out negotiations “until we do certain other things, like drop sanctions. And that’s not happening. Okay? That won’t be happening”.