Washington, July 28: In what may turn out to be an icebreaker in the tense US-Iran relations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been invited by Iran for an interview on its state-run broadcaster Press TV. The invite came in response to Pompeo's claim that he is willing to directly reach out to the Iranian public and explain the US point of view.

The interview, however, is expected to be filled with a tough line of questioning as the interviewer chosen by Tehran to question Pompeo is a known US critic, who was detained in America in January this year under the law which allows taking into custody those who could be witness in criminal cases. US Deploys F-22 Stealth Fighters to Qatar Amid Iran Tensions

"Our reporter Ms. Marzieh Hashemi can go and interview (Pompeo) so that he can say what he intends to say,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, quoted by official news agency IRNA.

Notably, Hashemi is a black Muslim who was born in the United States as Melanie Franklin. She later immigrated to Iran, converted to Islam, and also changed her name.

According to Rabiei, the seriousness of Pompeo's reach-out efforts could only be gauged after the interview. His decision to interact with the Iranian media is based on a counter to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's recent round of interviews with the US media.

Notably, Pompeo has expressed hope that Iran would return to the negotiations table and agree to strike a fresh deal with the Donald Trump-led US administration.

Tehran, however, has ruled out the option of talks until the US withdraws the crippling sanctions on Iran -- which the Hassan Rouhani government has termed as "economic terrorism".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2019 11:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).