Trump Claims He OK’d Zarif’s Surprise G7 Trip amid Reports He Was ’Blindsided’ By Macron’s ’Covert’

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who has recently been sanctioned by Washington, made a somewhat big entrance on Sunday as he unexpectedly arrived in France's Biarritz where the G7 summit was being held.

Relatively, US President Donald Trump refuted reports that he was caught off-guard by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's "surprise" visit to the site of this year's Group of Seven summit - the French town of Biarritz.

Trump claimed that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed his willingness to invite Zarif and asked for his approval - and POTUS told him to go ahead with the plan.

While stressing that he respected the fact that Zarif arrived in Biarritz, Trump added that he did not want to meet the Iranian foreign minister because "it was too soon".

At the same time, he stressed that he did not seek a regime change and wanted a "strong Iran" amid spiraling tensions in the region.

CNBC cited three unnamed officials on Sunday as saying that Trump and his aides were "blindsided" when Zarif arrived in Biarritz.

Sources added that some in the Trump administration were enraged at the French government's decision to invite Zarif, who was slapped with US sanctions last month, to Biarritz without significant advance notice.