Yemen Monitor / Washington / Agencies:
President Donald Trump announced on Monday that the US is holding “direct talks” with Iran and that a “very significant meeting” involving “high-level officials” is scheduled for Saturday.
The unexpected announcement comes after Trump’s repeated warnings that Iran must agree to a new nuclear deal or face military strikes.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had previously ruled out direct talks with the U.S. as long as Trump continued his “maximum pressure” policy.
Tehran has not confirmed Trump’s claim that the talks have “already begun” and will intensify soon.
Trump emphasized that the negotiations with Iran would be direct — not through intermediaries — and would be held “at almost the highest level.”
“I think everyone agrees that striking a deal would be better than doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something I want to be involved in — or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved in, if they can avoid it,” Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He added, “So we’ll see if we can avoid that. But it has become a very dangerous region, and we hope those talks succeed. And I believe it would be in Iran’s best interest if they do.”
