“It’s just as much an opportunity as it is a test,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci said on Saturday regarding discussions about Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said talks with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program will be a “opportunity” as it will be held in Oman on Saturday.
On Monday, President Donald Trump said consultations would be direct and Iranians are in “a great danger” if negotiations did not convince them to abolish the nuclear weapons program.
Trump said he spoke to reporters after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
He said, “We’re dealing with them in person and there will probably be a deal.”
Trump added: “To do the obvious, it is desirable to do the transaction.”
“A very bad day for Iran.”
When asked about the possibility of military action against Iran if the talks collapsed, Trump said, “Iran will be in great danger. I don’t want to say that. If the talks are not successful, it will be a very bad day for Iran.”
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On March 5, the Kremlin offered to mediate between Iran and the United States to avoid military conflict between the two countries.
Moscow and Tehran are political and military allies, with Iran supplying thousands of Shahed drones for use by Russia in the Ukrainian conflict.
Last month, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s top leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, asking for negotiations in person.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian later said Iran refused Trump’s pleading, but he opened up the idea of indirect negotiations with Washington.
A Libyan style contract has come to mind
Iran’s major military enemy in the Middle East is a close US ally, and Netanyahu said he supports a similar deal to that of its 2003 collaboration with Libya.
“I think that’s a good thing. But no matter what happens, we need to make sure Iran has no nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said this week.
President Donald Trump (L) will leave the West Wing of the White House in Washington on April 7, 2025. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Energy secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that he could expect even more severe sanctions if Iran fails to reach an agreement on abandoning its nuclear weapons program.
In an interview with CNBC, he said: “Absolutely, I am very strict and hopefully pushing them to abandon their nuclear program.”
Wright departs on a tour of the Middle East, starting in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to the report.
