Trump announces direct nuclear talks with Iran

President Donald Trump said the United States was starting direct, high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear programme on Saturday, in a shock announcement during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in "great danger" if the talks failed.

Tehran confirmed discussions were set for Saturday in Oman, but stressed they were "indirect" talks.

According to Iranian news agency Tasnim, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will attend the talks, as will the top US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

"It is as much an opportunity as it is a test," Araghchi wrote on X. "The ball is in America's court."

Netanyahu meanwhile said the United States and Israel were working on another deal to free hostages from war-torn Gaza, where a ceasefire between Israel and Iran's ally Hamas has collapsed.

"We're dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we're dealing with them directly," Trump told reporters after a meeting that was meant to focus on Israel's bid to avoid US tariffs.

Trump did not say where the talks would take place, but insisted they would not involve surrogates and would be at "almost the highest level."

Trump's stunning announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country's nuclear program, calling the idea pointless.

The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.

Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however.

"I think if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran's going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can't have a nuclear weapon," he said.

Meanwhile officials said that Russia, China and Iran were due to hold consultations on the Iranian nuclear issue on Tuesday in Moscow.

Trump's revelation came as Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally plead for a reprieve from stinging US tariffs that have shaken the world.

The Israeli premier pledged to eliminate the trade deficit between the two countries and also knock down trade "barriers."

His country moved to lift its last remaining tariffs on US imports ahead of the meeting.

Gaza talks

Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Gaza, where a short-lived, US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas has collapsed.

Netanyahu said new negotiations were in the works aimed at freeing more hostages taken by Hamas during its unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which ignited the war.

"We're working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we're committed to getting all the hostages out," he said.

Trump also doubled down on his plan for the United States to "control" the Gaza Strip, which he described as a "great piece of real estate." He initially announced that plan when Netanyahu last visited him in February.

Earlier, Trump greeted Netanyahu outside the West Wing and pumped his fist, 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 to a smaller group of pool reporters at length in the Oval Office.

The Israeli premier's visit is his second to Washington since Trump's return to power, and comes at short notice -- just days after the president slapped a 17 percent tariff on Israel in his "Liberation Day" announcement last week.

Trump refused to exempt the top beneficiary of US military aid from his global tariff salvo as he said Washington had a significant trade deficit with Israel.

Netanyahu met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday soon after his arrival, according to his office.

The Israeli premier also met Trump's envoy Witkoff on Monday.

Agence France-Presse