Indirect US-Iran nuclear talks to start in Oman on Saturday, led by White House envoy Witkoff

In a surprise announcement during his press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed that talks about the Iranian regime’s nuclear program would start this Saturday.

Trump did not immediately specify who would lead the talks and where they would be held: “Maybe a deal’s going to be made; that would be great. It would be really great for Iran…  We are meeting very importantly on Saturday, at almost the highest level.”

“We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen. And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable.”

An Iranian official later told Reuters that the talks would be held in the Sultanate of Oman in an indirect manner, with Omani mediation.

The Israeli side was blindsided by Trump's announcement of talks, reported the news outlet 'Israel Hayom'. "The shock was evident on people's faces," according to a source in the Israeli delegation.

A political source tried to calm the waves, telling the newspaper, "We knew such a development was possible," and, "This will not be JCPOA 2," referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal signed under President Barak Obama, which Israel sharply criticized and which Trump abolished in his first term.

Iranian state media reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff would lead the American delegation, while Iran would be represented by its Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi will handle the mediation, the report added.

Araghchi confirmed in a post on 𝕏: “Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks. It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court.”

Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks.

It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 7, 2025

If the initial, indirect talks go well, Tehran could be ready to continue the negotiations in direct talks, three Iranian officials told the New York Times.

While the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has so far rejected direct negotiations over the nuclear program, the officials said the Ayatollah recently changed his opinion and could approve direct talks, if the meeting on Saturday is “respectful and productive.”

The state-affiliated Nour News Agency said about the talks, “Trump's move can be seen as part of a psychological and media game aimed at presenting the US as a 'party aspiring to negotiations' and shifting the burden of the lack of dialogue to Iran.”

Trump’s announcement of new talks came as a surprise after several weeks of reports about massive U.S. military reinforcements in the Middle East.

However, the president again warned that “If the talks aren’t successful… it’ll be a very bad day for Iran.”

“I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. The obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it,” he said.

“So we’ll see if we can avoid it… It’s getting to be very dangerous territory.”

Trump: "We're having direct talks with Iran ... everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with ... it's getting to be very dangerous territory." pic.twitter.com/m4zTHB9sPC

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) April 7, 2025

Responding to a reporter asking about possible military action to destroy the regime’s nuclear program, Trump said, “Iran will be in great danger” if the talks fail. “I hate to say it. Great danger… It’s not a complicated formula… Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon…. If the talks aren’t successful… it’ll be a very bad day for Iran.”

During the roughly one hour of comments by Trump and Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister remained mostly silent, allowing Trump to dominate the discussion.

Netanyahu agreed that it would be “a good thing” if the issue could be resolved diplomatically. “We’re both united in the goal that Iran does not get nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said.

“If it can be done diplomatically, in a full way, the way it was done in Libya, I think that would be a good thing.”

“But whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu stressed.