Trump says ready to hold talks with Rouhani

US President Donald Trump has offered to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with "no preconditions".

"I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet," Trump said during a joint press conference at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. "I don’t know if they’re ready. They’re having a hard time."

"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meetings," BBC cited the US president as saying.

Hours later the White House appeared to walk back those comments.

"If the Iranian regime changes its behavior in the ways we’ve identified, the United States is prepared to take actions to end sanctions, reestablish full diplomatic and commercial relations, permit Iran to have advanced technology, and support the reintegration of the Iranian economy into the international economic system," National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said.