The Trump administration said over the weekend that the United States is prepared to negotiate with Iran without preconditions, days after the two countries nearly came to blows over a downed American surveillance drone.



President Donald Trump, when asked whether he had conditions for talking with Iran, said "not as far as I'm concerned, no preconditions," though he reiterated that his administration expected Iran to discuss its nuclear program.

The president made his comments in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet The Press."



Trump's position was reiterated by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he prepared to depart for the Middle East.

"We're prepared to negotiate with no preconditions," Pompeo told reporters Sunday. "I am confident that at the very moment they are ready to engage with us, we will be able to begin these conversations."



But Vice President Mike Pence, in an interview with CNN's "State of The Union," said "Iran needs to understand we'll never allow them to obtain a nuclear weapon and we will not allow them to continue to sow violence across this region."



Pence said he was not aware of any outreach from Iran.

Pompeo said he would travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to make sure that the U.S. is "strategically aligned" with its allies.

"We'll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned and how we can build out a global coalition," Pompeo said.

Trump called off military strikes against Iran last week, after the Islamic Republic shot down an unmanned U.S. drone with a surface-to-air missile.