President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States is going to begin direct, high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear program. He made the surprise announcement during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran but warned that Iran would be in “great danger” if talks failed. Tehran confirmed that discussions were scheduled for Saturday in Oman but insisted that they were “indirect” talks.
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the top US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will participate in the talks. “This is as much a test as it is an opportunity,” Araghchi wrote in X. “The ball is in America’s court.” Meanwhile, Netanyahu said the United States and Israel were working on another deal to free hostages from war-torn Gaza, where a peace deal with Israel and Iran’s ally Hamas has collapsed.
“We’re dealing with the Iranians, we had a big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters after a meeting that was said to focus on trying to shield Israel from US tariffs. Trump did not say where the talks would take place, but stressed that they would not involve delegates and would be at “almost the highest level.”
Trump’s surprise announcement came after Iran rejected direct talks on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear program. US President Trump withdrew from the previous agreement during his first term in 2018, and if no new agreement is reached, there is widespread speculation that Israel could attack Iranian facilities, possibly with US assistance.
But Trump has issued a stern warning to Tehran. “If the talks with Iran are not successful, I think Iran will be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they cannot have nuclear weapons,” he said. Meanwhile, officials said Russia, China and Iran are ready to hold consultations on the Iranian nuclear issue in Moscow on Tuesday.
Trump’s revelation comes after Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally request exemption from the world-shaking US tax. The Israeli prime minister promised to eliminate the trade deficit between the two countries and also reduce “barriers” to trade. His country had taken steps to remove its last remaining tariffs on US imports before the meeting.
Gaza talks
Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Gaza, where a short-lived US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has collapsed. Netanyahu said new talks were underway aimed at freeing additional hostages taken by Hamas during its unprecedented attack on Israel in October 2023. “We are currently working on another agreement that we hope will be successful and we are committed to releasing all hostages,” he said.
Trump also stressed his plan to “take control” of the Gaza Strip, describing it as “a great plot of land.” He first announced the plan in February when Netanyahu met with him. Earlier, Trump welcomed Netanyahu outside the West Wing and shook hands before the two leaders went inside for a meeting in the Oval Office.
Their planned press conference was canceled at short notice without explanation, an unusual move. But they spoke at length to a small group of reporters pooled in the Oval Office. This is the Israeli prime minister’s second visit to Washington since Trump returned to power, just days after the president imposed a 17 percent tax on Israel in his “Emancipation Day” proclamation last week.
Trump refused to exempt Israel, the largest beneficiary of US military aid, from his global tariff crackdown, citing Washington’s significant trade deficit with Israel. Netanyahu met with Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer immediately after his arrival on Sunday. The Israeli Prime Minister also met with Trump’s envoy, Witkoff, on Monday.
