Iran says US talks will be 'indirect' despite Trump 'direct' negotiations announcement
LONDON -- Iranian officials confirmed Monday that Tehran would hold "indirect" high level talks with U.S. representatives in Oman this weekend regarding Iran's nuclear program, though appeared to contradict President Donald Trump's assertion that the negotiations are "direct" in nature.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office 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."
"You know, a lot of people say, 'Oh, maybe you're going through surrogates or you're not dealing directly. You're dealing through other countries.' No, we're dealing with them directly. And, maybe a deal is going to be made," Trump said.
Asked on Tuesday whether the talks would indeed be direct, a White House National Security spokesperson told ABC News, "The president was clear in his remarks."
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a meeting will take place in Oman on April 12, though stressed they would be "indirect high-level talks."
"It is as much an opportunity as it is a test," Araghchi said in a post to social media.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also told a Tuesday press conference that the coming talks with the U.S. will be "indirect."
"We believe in negotiations," she said, as quoted by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. "We had previously stated that if the language of respect is used, we will negotiate."
"Details will emerge during the negotiations," Mohajerani added. "As negotiations have not started yet, there are no details that we can share now," she said.
"As a negotiator party with an equal perspective toward the talks, what matters to us is focusing on our national interests, anything that improves the situation for our people, and the topics that have previously been discussed. Hopefully, we will have wise negotiations ahead," she added.
The U.S. and Iran have engaged in indirect talks several times in recent years. The country has traditionally played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, including during talks held there in 2023.
Iranian officials have so far refused Trump's offer to engage in direct talks. President Masoud Pezeshkian said in March that "although direct negotiations between the two parties are rejected, it has been stated that the path for indirect negotiations is open."
If direct talks happen as Trump said, they would be the first publicly-known direct negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the president exited the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal in 2018.
In recent weeks, Trump has threatened potential military action against Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.
"I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious," the president said Monday, speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "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," he said.
"So, we're going to see if we can avoid it," Trump continued. "But 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 interests if they are successful."
ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
