Trump says US has begun direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program

President Donald Trump said Monday that direct talks are underway between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program.

President Donald Trump said Monday that direct talks are underway between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said a “very big meeting” would take place Saturday. “I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious,” Trump said. The US president declined to give further details about the meeting beyond saying it would be “at top level.” He did not say which officials would represent the US at such talks. Iran had previously rejected Trump’s offer of direct negotiations over its nuclear program, offering instead to engage in indirect talks. Trump’s offer, which he sent to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March, proposed negotiations on a new nuclear deal, with a two-month ultimatum to reach an agreement, a source familiar with the letter’s contents previously told CNN. “We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in televised remarks last month when he rejected direct negotiations. “They must prove that they can build trust.”