Trump does not object to visa for Iranian leader and foreign minister

"If it were for me, I would let them come," President Donald Trump told reporters in Los Angeles on Wednesday, asking if he thinks the Iranian president and Foreign Minister should receive US visas to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations next week.

Trump made the statement on the runway of the Los Angeles International Airport, before leaving for San Diego for a fundraising event. "I certainly wouldn't want to keep people out if they want to come," he said.

The Trump administration is required to issue visas under the UN agreement with the United States, the host country of the organization. The State Department, which issues visas, does not make statements about individual cases.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Wednesday that he has been in contact with the United States to resolve the pending visa problems of all delegations.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said earlier that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, cannot attend the general assembly in New York because the United States had not yet issued visas.

IRNA said Zarif would travel to New York on Friday, and that Rouhani would follow him on Monday. US officials and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have said that direct talks between Trump and Rouhani are not planned.

"Many options"

Trump said the United States has "many options" in addition to military attacks to respond to Iran's missile and drone attacks that destroyed half of Saudi Arabia's oil production last weekend.

"We are in a very strong position," Trump told reporters on the runway of the airport in California while heading for a political fundraiser. In Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of carrying out an "act of war" in the attacks.

Trump's statement came hours after he said he is "substantially" increasing economic sanctions against Iran in the wake of attacks on the oil field that Washington says were launched by Tehran.

Trump, on Twitter, said he had ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to toughen the existing sanctions against Iran that, according to US officials, have already hindered his economy, but did not give details about the new sanctions. Trump said the details of the sanctions would be announced within 48 hours.

Trump's sanctions order came when Pompeo met with Saudi officials in Jeddah on how to respond to attacks that at least temporarily reduced the daily production of Saudi oil by 5.7 million barrels, almost 6% of the supply World oil.