A day after U.S. President Donald Trump offered to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani "anytime" and "without preconditions," Israeli officials dismissed allegations that the declaration caught Israel by surprise.
After Trump's announcement Tuesday, the White House clarified that the president's willingness to meet with his Iranian counterpart did not change his administration's intention to ratchet up sanctions and rhetoric against Iran with the stated goal of "seeking changes in the Iranian government's behavior."
A senior Israeli official told Reuters on Tuesday that Israel is in "continuous contact with the American administration. Senior American officials have stated that there is no change in America's firm policy on Iran."
Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi was also unfazed by Trump's offer.
"President Trump has an approach that bypasses formalities and goes straight [to the heart of the matter]," he said Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Rouhani's chief of staff claimed that Iran rejected eight requests by the Trump administration for one-on-one meetings between the nations' leaders on the sidelines of a U.N. General Assembly meeting last year.
