TEHRAN — Iran’s foreign minister said this week that any upcoming negotiations between Tehran and Washington will be conducted indirectly, pushing back on comments by President Donald J. Trump suggesting that direct talks were about to begin.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, confirmed that senior representatives from both countries are scheduled to meet on Saturday in Oman. However, he emphasized that the format would remain indirect and framed the engagement as both an opportunity and a test.
“Iran and the United States will hold indirect high-level negotiations in Oman on Saturday,” Araghchi said. “This meeting is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is now in America’s court.”
The remarks followed statements from Trump during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the US president said direct talks with Iran had already begun and that a high-level session was scheduled for the weekend.
“I think if the talks with Iran are not successful, Iran will be in great danger,” Trump said. “It’s not a complex formula: Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. It’s that simple.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry had earlier described the proposed talks as “responsible and generous,” while reaffirming that any communication with the US would proceed through intermediaries.
The development comes amid rising tensions between the two countries, as the Biden-era nuclear agreement remains dormant and Tehran’s uranium enrichment efforts continue to draw international concern.
Trump, who withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during his first term in office, has warned repeatedly that failure to reach a new agreement would leave Tehran vulnerable to military action. The 2015 accord, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), placed strict limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Since the US withdrawal, Iran has gradually expanded its nuclear activities. Western intelligence agencies and watchdog groups say the country is edging closer to the technical capacity to produce a nuclear weapon.
Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
