On Monday, President Trump claimed the US and Iran would be holding direct talks this Saturday, even though Iranian officials rejected the idea of direct negotiations just a day earlier.
While hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House, Trump said the talks would be held at a “high level” and that reaching a deal with Iran on its nuclear program would be better than the alternative, referring to his recent threat to bomb Iran and the US military buildup in the Middle East. The president said that if the talks aren’t successful, Iran would be “in great danger.”
Trump is threatening Iran over its nuclear program even though US intelligence agencies recently reaffirmed that Tehran is not building a nuclear weapon.
So far, Iranian officials have not confirmed the talks. Tehran has maintained that it will not hold direct talks with the US in the face of increasing US sanctions and military threats, but Iranian officials have made clear they’re open to indirect negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday it didn’t make sense for Tehran to hold direct talks with a country that “constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the UN Charter and that expresses contradictory positions from its various officials.”
Araghchi said Iran remains “committed to diplomacy and are ready to try the path of indirect negotiations.”
Trump and Netanyahu said they discussed Iran during a closed-door meeting but didn’t elaborate. Recent reports have said that the US is planning to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities with Israel.
