US, Iran set to hold nuclear talks this weekend

• US president warns of danger if nuclear talks fail.
• Direct talks would not occur without explicit approval of Khamenei.
• Iran claims its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
  

President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear programme. Still, Iran's foreign minister said the discussions in Oman would be indirect.

In a further sign of the difficult path to any deal between the two geopolitical foes, Trump issued a stark warning that if the talks are unsuccessful, "Iran is going to be in great danger."

Iran had pushed back against Trump's demands in recent weeks that it directly negotiate over its nuclear programme or be bombed, and it appeared to be sticking to that position on Monday.

"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 told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable," Trump said. He added that Saturday's talks with Iran would be at a very high level, without elaborating. He declined to say where the talks would take place but held out the possibility that a deal could be reached.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X that indirect high-level talks would be held in Oman, adding: "It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court."

The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden's term but made little progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned.

Warnings by Trump of military action against Iran had jangled already tense nerves across the Middle East after open warfare in the region, a change of leadership in Syria.

Trump, who has beefed up the US military presence in the region since taking office in January, has said he would prefer a deal over Iran's nuclear programme to armed confrontation and, on March 7, said he had written to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to suggest talks.

Iranian officials said at the time that Tehran would not be bullied into negotiations.

"Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if the talks aren't successful, I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran," Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday.

Direct talks would not occur without the explicit approval of Khamenei, who in February said negotiations with the US were "not smart, wise, or honourable."

Iran favours indirect negotiations

Hours before Trump's announcement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Iran was awaiting a US response to Tehran's proposal for indirect negotiations. He said the Islamic Republic believed it was making a generous, responsible and honourable offer.

After Trump spoke, a senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: "The talks will not be direct ... It will be with Oman's mediation." Oman, which maintains good relations with both the US and Iran, has been a longtime channel for messages between the rival states.

Iran's Nournews, affiliated with the country's top security body, described Trump's statement about a planned direct meeting as part of a "psychological operation aimed at influencing domestic and international public opinion."

A second Iranian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said over the weekend there was possibly a window of around two months to reach a deal, citing worries that Iran's longtime foe Israel might launch its attack if talks took longer.

Netanyahu, who has shown little support for US negotiations with Iran, said if diplomacy could prevent Tehran from ever getting nuclear weapons "in a full way, the way it was done in Libya, I think that would be a good thing."

During his 2017-2021 term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers designed to curb Iran's sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.

Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment.

Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy programme.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is wholly for civilian energy purposes.

The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for details.

The fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, another key Iranian ally, has further weakened the Islamic Republic's influence.