U.S. Will Hold Direct Talks With Iran, Trump Says

During a visit Monday by Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump told reporters that the U.S. and Iran would begin direct negotiations. 

“We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump said.

The announcement comes as a surprise, as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, publicly rejected the prospect of a new Iran deal with the Trump administration, and the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called direct talks “meaningless” as recently as Sunday.

Trump began the diplomatic process two months ago, when he sent a letter to the Iranian government requesting negotiations over the country’s nuclear program. Since then, the president has added more sanctions against the Iranian economy and instituted a policy of “maximum pressure” on the country. He has also warned Iran that if it does not reach a deal with the U.S., there “will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

“I think everyone agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with,” said Trump on Monday. “It’s getting to be very dangerous territory, and hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interest if they are successful.”