Trump says US has begun direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program

By Kevin Liptak and Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump said Monday that direct talks are underway between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said a “very big meeting” would take place Saturday. Trump declined to give further details about the meeting beyond saying it would be “at top level.”

“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said.

US officials are expected to sit down with Iranian officials to directly discuss a nuclear deal on Saturday in a meeting hosted by Oman, a person familiar with the plans confirmed to CNN later Monday.

But the source could not say who would participate and at what level. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is believed to be handling the Iran file.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said Monday on X the US and Iran will hold “indirect high-level” talks in Oman on Saturday.

“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” the foreign minister said.

Direct talks between the US and Iran could represent a blow to Israel, which has long advocated for striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Trump has indicated a preference for negotiating over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran had previously rejected Trump’s offer of direct negotiations over its nuclear program, offering instead to engage in indirect talks. Trump’s offer, which he sent to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March, proposed negotiations on a new nuclear deal, with a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents previously told CNN.

“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in televised remarks last month when he rejected direct negotiations. “They must prove that they can build trust.”

The Iranian mission to the UN declined to comment when asked about direct talks or the meeting that Trump announced.

Trump on Monday voiced optimism that talks would be successful in convincing Iran to abandon its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.

“Hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful. … We hope that’s going to happen,” he said.

“If the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger,” Trump warned.

Both Israel and the US have vowed they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon.

In December, United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters that Iran is “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade. In January, Grossi again warned that Iran is “pressing the gas pedal” on its uranium enrichment.

The US been sending more military assets to the Middle East as tensions in the region continue to flare.

The Trump administration began ramping up military action against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in mid-March, with airstrikes that killed at least 53 people and wounded almost 100 others, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry.

Last week, CNN reported the total cost of the US’ military action against the Houthis was nearing $1 billion in just under three weeks, even as the attacks have had limited impact on destroying the terror group’s capabilities, three people briefed on the campaign’s progress told CNN.

The military offensive has already used hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of munitions for strikes against the group, including JASSM long-range cruise missiles; JSOWs, which are GPS-guided glide bombs; and Tomahawk missiles, the sources said.

This story has been updated with additional reporting

CNN’s Alex Marquardt, Kylie Atwood, Alayna Treene and Michael Rios contributed to this report.

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