CNN
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President Donald Trump said on Monday that in-person talks between the US and Iran are ongoing on Tehran’s nuclear program.
In partnership with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said a “very big meeting” would be held on Saturday.
“I think everyone agrees that it’s better to do a transaction than to do the obvious,” Trump said.
The US President refused to provide details of the meeting beyond what he said was “at the top level.” He did not say which officials would represent the United States in such consultations.
Iran previously rejected offers to directly negotiate Trump’s nuclear program and instead offered to engage in indirect talks. Trump’s offer, sent to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March, proposed negotiations on a new nuclear deal, and proposed a two-month ultimatum for a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement.
“We will not avoid consultations. It is a violation of our promise that has caused problems up until now,” Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian said on television last month when he refused to negotiate in person. “They have to prove they can build trust.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined to comment when asked about in-person talks and meetings announced by Trump.
Trump expressed optimism on Monday that the talk will be successful when convincing Iran to abandon its nuclear program. Tehran claimed it was for peaceful purposes.
“Hopefully those consultations will be successful, and if they succeed, I think it will be in Iran’s greatest benefit… We hope that happens,” he said.
“I think if the consultations with Iran are not successful, Iran will be in great danger,” Trump warned.
Both Israel and the United States have vowed that they will not let Iran acquire nuclear weapons.
In December, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters that Iran “dramatically” accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60% purity, near the weapons grade of about 90%. In January, Grossi warned once again that Iran was “pushing the gasoline pedal” with uranium enrichment.
The US has sent more military assets to the Middle East as tensions flare around the region.
The Trump administration began to intensify military action against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in mid-March, in airstrikes that killed at least 53 people and injured nearly 100 others, according to the Houthi-Run health ministry.
Last week, CNN reported that the total cost of US military operations has approached $1 billion in just under three weeks, despite the attacks being limited to destroying the capabilities of terrorist groups.
Military attacks have already used hundreds of millions of dollars worth of munitions for strikes against a group that includes the Jassm Long-Range Cruise missile. JSOWS, a GPS-guided glide bomb; and the Tomahawk missile, sources said.