Trump Confirms Direct Talks with Iran on Nuclear Program After Netanyahu's Visit

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to begin direct high-level talks with Iran over its nuclear program next Saturday. The statement was made during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, April 7, 2024, quoted from Arab News.

“Maybe a deal’s going to be made, that would be great. We are meeting very importantly on Saturday, at almost the highest level,” he said.

Trump's surprising announcement came a day after Iran rejected direct negotiations on a new agreement to restrain its Islamic republic's nuclear program. Iran called the idea useless.

The U.S. president withdrew from the last agreement in 2018 during his first term in office. In addition, there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with U.S. assistance, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.

“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, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it," he said.

The surprising announcement came as Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally appeal for the suspension of U.S. tariffs that have sent shockwaves through the world.

Netanyahu pledged that he would "eliminate" the trade deficit between the two countries and also dismantle trade "barriers." Netanyahu stated that his country was moving to remove the remaining tariffs on U.S. imports ahead of the meeting.

Netanyahu said he felt Israel could be a "model for many countries" in terms of tariff negotiations. Netanyahu and Trump also discussed Gaza, where a short-term ceasefire mediated by the U.S. between Israel and Hamas has collapsed.

Netanyahu explained that new negotiations are underway aimed at freeing more hostages from war-torn Gaza.

“We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out,” Netanyahu said in the Oval Office of the White House.

Trump also reiterated his plan for the U.S. to "take over" the Gaza Strip, which he described as "a widespread piece of land." The plan was initially announced when Netanyahu last visited in February.

Previously, Trump welcomed Netanyahu outside the West Wing and shook his hand before the two leaders entered to meet in the Oval Office.

A planned press conference between the two leaders was abruptly canceled without explanation, but they spoke to a small group of reporters in the Oval Office.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first official visit marked his second meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump since Trump's return to office. The visit came shortly after Trump announced a 17 percent tariff on Israeli goods during last week's "Liberation Day" address.

Despite Israel being a key recipient of U.S. military aid, Trump declined to exempt the country from his sweeping global tariffs, citing a substantial trade imbalance with Israel.

Upon his arrival, Netanyahu held discussions with U.S. Trade Minister Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday evening. He also met with Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, on Monday, April 7, 2025.

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