Tehran, Apr 8 (EFE).- Iran confirmed Tuesday that it would hold negotiations with the United States regarding its nuclear program, but insisted they would be indirect talks after US President Donald Trump announced they would be direct discussions.
“Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” he added.
Iran has so far insisted that any contact with the US would be indirect through intermediaries, which clashes with Trump’s position.
The Iranian top diplomat’s message came hours after Trump announced that the two countries would hold “direct talks” on Saturday in search of an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
“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 during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
The president emphasized that the meeting with Iran, with which the US has no diplomatic relations, would be at “almost the highest level.”
“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said, seemingly in reference to a hypothetical attack on Iran.
“So we’re going to see if we can avoid it. But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory. And hopefully those talks will be successful,” he added.
Trump sent a letter to Iran via the United Arab Emirates urging negotiations over its nuclear program and has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if an agreement is not reached.
Tehran responded on Mar. 26 with the message that it was only willing to hold indirect talks with Washington, given the US president’s military threats and the imposition of new sanctions to cut off sales of Iranian oil.
During his first term (2017-2021), Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact, which limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran has enriched uranium far beyond the permissible levels and now possesses 274 kilograms enriched to 60 percent, which is close to the 90 percent level that is considered weapons grade, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
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