ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran has rejected claims of direct engagement with the United States over its nuclear program, just hours after US President Donald Trump announced that Tehran and Washington would hold direct talks and an important meeting on Saturday.
In a statement he posted on X early on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect high-level talks.”
He emphasized that the anticipated engagement “is as much an opportunity as it is a test” and that “the ball is in America's court.”
For its part, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency on the same day cited Araghchi as confirming that he and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will lead their respective delegations to hold “indirect talks” in Oman on Saturday, April 12.
Araghchi had previously stated that his country is open to “indirect talks” with Washington, and rejected as “pointless” the direct engagement “with a party that constantly threatens to resort to force in violation of the United Nations Charter.”
The Iranian foreign minister’s Tuesday remarks came hours before Trump had underscored on Monday that “direct talks” between Washington and Tehran have begun.
"We're having direct talks with Iran, and they have started," Trump told reporters at the White House after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Maybe a deal [with Iran] is going to be made. That would be great. We are meeting very importantly on Saturday [April 12], at almost the highest level,” he added.
In his Monday remarks, Trump notably added that both the US and Israel would prefer a diplomatic solution over military confrontation. However the US president also pointed to possible military action against Iran if the talks are unsuccessful.
“I think 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,” Trump said.
He further threatened that Iran will be in great danger if the talks fail.
"I think if the talks aren't successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger. And I hate to say it. Great danger. Because they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
On March 29, the US President had warned that “there will be bombing” against Iranian interests if Tehran fails to reach an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
“If they don’t make a deal [with the US] there will be bombing, and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump told NBC News.
In an indirect response to Trump’s threats, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 31 warned of a strong response if Iran is attacked.
“They threaten to commit evil,” but “if evil is committed, the counterattack will definitely be mutually strong,” Khamenei said.
Additionally, a senior aide to Khamenei, Ali Larijani, on the same day suggested that Tehran may pursue nuclear weapons if attacked by the US or Israel. The remarks signaled a possible shift in policy under Khamenei, who has long opposed such weapons on religious grounds.
Amid the heightened tensions, the US has been beefing up its military presence in the region within operational range from Iran.
It recently deployed the USS Carl Vinson and USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East, along with up to six B-2 stealth bombers stationed at Diego Garcia - a US-British military base in the Indian Ocean.
Additional fighter jets and surveillance aircraft have also been moved to the region, alongside Patriot missile defense batteries to bolster air defenses.
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