US president Donald Trump has announced the US would hold direct talks with Iran on curtailing Tehran’s nuclear programme, in a sign of possible progress in one of the Middle East’s most intractable problems.
Mr Trump said the talks on Saturday would be at a “very high level”, adding: “We’re dealing with them directly. Maybe a deal’s going to be made – that’d be great.”
Mr Trump was speaking after talks on Monday with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu which had touched on Iran, as well as US tariffs on Israel and the war in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu said the two were “united in the goal that Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons”.
Mr Trump added, “Everyone agrees that doing a deal [with Iran] would be preferable to doing the obvious” – an apparent reference to destroying Iran’s nuclear capability by military means.
“And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with or frankly that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and the US would hold indirect “high level talks” on Saturday in Oman, which has previously facilitated discussions.
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Mr Araghchi said of the talks. “The ball is in America’s court.”
Tasnim, a semi-official news agency, reported on Tuesday that the “indirect” meeting would take place between Iran’s foreign minister and Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
Iran held several rounds of indirect talks with the Biden administration, which resulted in limited achievements, including the transfer of billions of dollars in frozen assets from South Korea to Qatar. However, the talks did not lead to direct negotiations or a revival of the nuclear agreement.
I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger because they can’t have a nuclear weapon
— Donald Trump
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had previously ruled out talks with the Trump administration, citing Washington’s reimposition of sanctions and threats of military action should Tehran refuse to compromise on its nuclear programme and military and regional policies.
However, Iranian diplomats have suggested that indirect talks through intermediaries such as Oman could be possible if they were limited strictly to the nuclear issue.
Tehran has made it clear that its ballistic missile programme and its support for anti-Israel militant groups were not open to negotiation.
Hopes of a revival of diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran rose last month after Mr Trump sent a letter to Mr Khamenei saying he wanted to reach an agreement. But in subsequent days, he warned that if Iran did not agree to a deal, “there will be bombing and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before”.
In 2018, Mr Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 international accord designed to strictly limit Iran’s nuclear activities. The agreement, which had the buy-in of Europe, Russia and China, had been considered a major achievement in global diplomacy.
Mr Trump then reimposed sanctions on the Islamic republic as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.
Since his return to the White House in January, the president has faced the repercussions of that decision, with Iran aggressively expanding its nuclear activity.
Many countries fear Tehran could be close to weaponising its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to become the world’s 10th acknowledged nuclear power.
With Israel warning it will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran, some fear that, if left unchecked, the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions could trigger a new war in the Middle East.
Mr Trump said any new agreement would be “different and maybe a lot stronger” than the JCPOA, without providing details.
“I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Mr Trump said. “You know it’s not a complicated formula.”
If you take the Palestinian people and move them around to different countries, you really have a Freedom Zone
— Donald Trump
Iran has said that if any talks were to take place, they would aim to explore the possibility of an agreement similar to the JCPOA.
Mr Trump also praised Mr Netanyahu for his efforts to free 59 Israeli hostages from the captivity of Hamas. The Israeli prime minister has faced criticism for ripping up a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group rather than pursue talks to end the war in exchange for the remaining hostages’ freedom.
Without providing details, Mr Trump said a new ceasefire could be possible, but the decision was up to Mr Netanyahu.
He also repeated his suggestion that Gaza could be a real estate opportunity if the Palestinian population emigrated to unnamed countries. He briefly suggested the possibility of a US-led peacekeeping force to secure the area.
“If you take the Palestinian people and move them around to different countries, you really have a Freedom Zone,” Mr Trump said.
That plan has been condemned in the Arab world, but embraced by Mr Netanyahu, who portrayed it as a humanitarian gesture that would allow refugees to flee a war zone. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
