Iran will negotiate directly with US: Trump

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States will engage in direct discussions with Iran regarding its nuclear programme, while warning that Iran would face “great danger” if the talks fail to persuade Tehran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Iran, meanwhile, confirmed that talks will take place but maintained they will be indirect, mediated through a third party. Speaking to reporters following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the negotiations will begin Saturday and stressed that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.

“We’re dealing with them directly and maybe a deal is going to be made,” Trump said, adding, “doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious.” When asked whether he would resort to military action if a diplomatic resolution cannot be reached, Trump replied, “Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it.”

“If the talks aren’t successful, I think it’s going to be a very bad day for Iran,” he added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, writing on X (a platform banned in Iran), asserted that the negotiations would not be face-to-face.

“Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks,” he posted. “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”

Trump recently sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing direct negotiations on Iran’s accelerating nuclear programme. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said last month that while Tehran rejected the offer for direct talks, it remained open to indirect discussions with the U.S.

Trump, however, has repeatedly called on Iran- a key backer of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels- to dismantle its nuclear programme or face consequences.

“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said in a March interview with NBC News. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

During his first presidential term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal brokered under President Barack Obama.