US President Donald Trump said that the United States is holding "direct" talks with Iran and that a "very big meeting" will take place on April 12.
Iran's foreign minister confirmed that the meeting will take place on April 12, but that the talks will be "indirect."
"Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for high-level indirect talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the IX on April 7, shortly after Trump commented on the talks. "It's as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court."
Iran has insisted on indirect negotiations, saying it will not hold direct talks as long as Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran is in effect.
Trump told reporters at the White House that the talks were taking place "at a very high level, almost the highest level," and stressed that there was no intermediary.
"We have a very big meeting and we'll see what can happen. I think everyone agrees that reaching a deal would be desirable," Trump said at an impromptu news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"If talks with Iran are not successful, I think Iran will be in great danger," Trump said, insisting that the Islamic Republic must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu made brief comments, expressing support for a deal with Iran modeled after Libya, citing a 2003 agreement in which the African nation agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs.
Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and has previously ruled out a Libya-style deal. Trump earlier this month called for "direct talks" with Tehran, saying they were "faster" and offered a better understanding than using intermediaries. Trump suggested at the time that a new deal with Iran could be "different and perhaps much stronger" than the 2015 nuclear deal.
He had earlier sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for negotiations and warning of military action if diplomacy failed.
Iranian President Masoud Pezheskian said on April 5 that Tehran was ready for dialogue on an “equal basis.” The following day, Aragchi said in a statement that Tehran was ready to hold indirect talks.
After pulling out of the nuclear deal in 2018 during his first term as president, Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the deal. Iran has responded by accelerating its nuclear program and is currently enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, which is described as near weapons-grade.
The 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has a quick-fix mechanism that allows for the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran. But after the deal expires in October, world powers lose the ability to trigger that mechanism.
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if a deal is not reached over its nuclear program. Iran has warned it will respond "strongly" to any aggression and suggested it would develop a bomb if attacked.
Washington is sending mixed messages about whether it wants to limit Iran's uranium enrichment or completely dismantle Iran's nuclear program.
Iran has not commented on Trump's claim that direct talks have already begun.
Noor News, a website affiliated with Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, described Trump's statements as "a calculated effort to shape public opinion" aimed at portraying Washington as the party taking the diplomatic initiative and Tehran as the party opposed to dialogue.
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