White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday evening that President Trump will attend the World Cup final as a guest of honor, and that Iran continues to engage with the US and seeks a deal. She attributed the recent strikes to Iran's violation of the memorandum of understanding between the two countries, according to a White House statement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement Thursday evening covering two key topics: President Trump's attendance at the World Cup final and the ongoing US-Iran talks.
Leavitt confirmed that Trump will attend the final on Sunday as a guest of honor, as The Zioneer reported earlier at 20:32 Jerusalem time. She also repeated that Iran continues to talk with the United States and wants a deal, and that the recent American strikes on Iran were a direct response to Tehran's violation of the bilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU). The remarks came during a press briefing that began at 20:00 Jerusalem, her first since returning to work.
Earlier Thursday, Leavitt had also signaled that the White House would detail new steps against Iran, and separate reports from N12 and other outlets cited her saying Iran seeks an agreement. The current statement, quoted by the source connected to the White House press pool, adds the specific characterization of Trump's role at the World Cup as "guest of honor."
Iran's willingness to negotiate has been a recurring theme in recent weeks. The Zioneer reported on Wednesday that Trump claimed Iran "wants to meet," and US envoy Waltz said on June 14 that Trump intends to close a deal despite Hezbollah's opposition. The strikes referenced by Leavitt appear to be the US operations against Iranian targets that followed the MOU violation, though no further operational details were provided.
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