President Donald Trump Said Monday, the US will hold direct talks with Iran on his nuclear program, while warning the Iranians that they would be in “great danger” if the talks do not succeed in persuading them to abandon their nuclear weapons program. For her part, Tehran confirmed that the talks would happen, but insisted they would be indirect discussions through a mediator.
Trump, in comments to reporters after meeting with the Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahusaid the talks will begin on Saturday. He insisted that Tehran could not get nuclear weapons.
“We are dealing with them directly and maybe a deal will be made,” Trump said. He added that “making a deal would be preferable to make clear.”
Asked if he would commit to military action against Iran if his negotiators would not be able to agree with Tehran, Trump replied, “Iran will be in great danger and I hate to say it.”
“If the talks are not successful, I think it will be a very bad day for Iran,” Trump said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, writing on the X social platform that is banned in Tehran, insisted the talks would be indirect.
“Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for high -level indirect talks,” he wrote. “It is not as much as possible as a test is. The ball is in the Court of America.”
Trump’s letter began the new negotiation attempt
Trump recently sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for direct negotiations with the United States for his rapidly progressing nuclear program. But IranianPresident Masoud Pezeshkiansaid at the end of last month that Iran had refused Trump’s prayer whileleaving open the possibility of indirect negotiationswith Washington.
But Trump has repeatedly called to Iran, who is Hamas’s leading sponsor in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon andHouthi militants in Yemento abandon his nuclear program or to face an account.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombs,” Trump told NBC News in late March. “It will be the bombing of which they have never seen before.”
Trump during his first White House term unilaterallydrew Sh.BAFrom the Landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated by the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.
Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s diplomatic efforts to reach a solution with Iran, adding that Israel and US share the same goal to ensure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. Netanyahu, however, led efforts to persuade Trump to withdraw from the 2018 agreement.
The Israeli leader, known for his extreme views on Iran and past calls for military pressure, said he would welcome a diplomatic agreement along the lines of the Libya agreement with the international community in 2003. Iran has insisted that his program, admitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency, must continue.
“I think this would be a good thing,” Netanyahu said. “But whatever happens, we have to make sure Iran has no nuclear weapons.”
Trump said talks would happen “almost at the highest level”, but refused to say where negotiations would happen or who was sending for sensitive diplomacy.
Oman’s Middle East Sultanate was an important channel for previous American-Iran negotiations. Did not admit that he would wait for future talks.
Trump announced plans for surprise engagement while Netanyahu paid a hastily arranged visit to the White House – his second in just over two months – to discuss feeswas released to the countries of the worldIran’s nuclear program and the Israeli-Hamas war.
Trump, Netanyahu discuss the tensions and medium fees
Trump and Netanyahu said they also discussed tensions with Iran, the links of Israel-Turkey and the international criminal court, whichissued an arrest warrant against Israeli leaderLast year Trump in February signed aExecutive order that imposes sanctions on ICCon his Israeli investigation.
Before his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump delivered a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and King of Jordan Abdullah II. All three leaders have been key interlocutors in efforts to reduce tensions in the Middle East and end the Israeli-Hamas war.
The prime minister immediately arrived in Washington on Sunday evening met with senior officials of the Trump administration, secretary of tradeHoward Lutnickand US trade representative Jameson Greer to discuss tariffs. And Netanyahu met on Monday withSteve Witkoff,Trump’s special envoy in the Middle East, before his landing with the president.
With tariffs, Netanyahu said he assured Trump that his government would move to delete the trade deficit. American-Israel trade was $ 37 billion last year, according to the US Trade Representative Office. The trade deficit was $ 7.4 billion.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu said, “We intend to do it very soon.”
Trump noted that in addition to the trade deficit, the US provides Israel with nearly $ 4 billion aid a year – most of it in military aid. Asked if he might be willing to reduce Israel’s tariff level, Trump replied, “Maybe not, maybe not. Remember that we help Israel a lot.”
In the case of Israel, theyConcessions may not be economical. Trump can put pressure from Netanyahu to move toward finishWar in Gaza– At least through some temporary ceasefire with Hamas that would stop fighting and liberate more hostages. Eytan Gilboa, a US-Israel relationship expert and a professor at the Bar-Ilan University of Israel, said Trump hopes to return from his first overseas trip-is expected next month for Saudi Arabia-with some moves in a deal to normalize relations with Israel, which is likely to seek important Israeli concessions in Gaza.
If he manages to move towards strengthening links between Israel and Saudi Arabia, it would act as a regional diplomatic counterweight to Iran’s pressure, against whichTrump has threatened new sanctionsand suggested military action on his nuclear program.
In a preliminary action last week, Israel announced that it was lifting all fees for goods from the US, mainly for imported food and agricultural products, according to a statement from the Netanyahu office.
But the tactic failed, and at a 17%rate, Israel was just one of the dozens of countries that tried with tariffs on the so -called Trump liberation day last week.
Although Israel is a small market for US products, the United States is a major trading partner of Israel. Most of that trade is for high -tech services, which are not directly affected by tariffs, but the major Israeli industries can be affected.
The Israeli Manufacturers Association estimates that tariffs will cost Israel about $ 3 billion in exports each year and lead to the loss of 26,000 industry jobs that include biotechnology, chemicals, plastics and electronics. The World Bank says Israel’s gross domestic product, a measure of economic production, is over $ 500 billion a year.
This story was originally presented to Fortune.com
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