US President Donald Trump has indicated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there are 60 days from Saturday allocated for nuclear talks with Iran, Israel's Channel 12 reported on Tuesday.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Tuesday a meeting on Saturday with Iranian officials in Oman would focus primarily on nuclear issues, not Iran’s regional activities.
“This is not a negotiation,” she told reporters in Washington DC on Tuesday, calling it “a meeting”.
Bruce acknowledged questions about Iran’s missile program and support for regional armed groups but said: “There are things being negotiated in that regard,” while this session would be “a matter of determining what’s possible.”
She added that while Trump is committed to diplomacy, the outcome depends on Iran. “If they don't want to, it will be very, very bad for them.”
Asked about Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s assertion that the talks on Saturday would be indirect, Bruce said, “That’s nice for the Iranians. I would refer back to the President of the United States, Donald John Trump.”
In his talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Trump said Iran will not have nuclear weapons. Military nuclear facilities, no; civilian nuclear, yes," Jerusalem Post reported citing a source familiar with the details of the discussions.
"Iran would be allowed to maintain a civilian nuclear program for electricity generation, such as the Bushehr reactor, even if it must completely dismantle its current nuclear program," the report added.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Takht-Ravanchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, met with Olof Skoog, the newly appointed deputy EU foreign policy chief, in Vienna.
Skoog has replaced Enrique Mora, the Spanish diplomat who headed EU delegations in previous rounds of talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
The Iranian and European diplomats "discussed the latest developments regarding the nuclear issue and the prospect of negotiations, and it was decided that talks between the parties will continue at various levels," Iran's Foreign Ministry said later in the day.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt warned that dire consequences await Iran if a nuclear deal is not reached with the United States.
"They have a choice to make. You can strike a deal with the President, you can negotiate, or there will be hell to pay," Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.
She said the talk will be direct when asked about assertions by Iranian officials who maintain that the talks in Oman would be indirect.
US President Donald Trump should clarify the objectives of his initiative to hold direct negotiations with Iran, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told Iran International on Tuesday, questioning the veracity of the president's assertions.
"The President should share with the Congress what his goals are," Murphy said. "I have no idea what he thinks he's going to achieve."
Trump announced on Monday during a joint Oval Office appearance with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that 'top level' negotiations will commence between the United States and Iran in Oman on Saturday.
Murphy cast doubt over the event's significance, accusing Trump of lying and not discussing his plans with lawmakers.
“Most of the stuff he says isn’t real ...He lies every single day," the Connecticut Senator said. "He engages in all sorts of negotiations that go nowhere and have no point. So this could be another version."
Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will lead the talks, the exact arrangement of which remains unclear as Tehran insists it would be indirect.
Iran's supreme leader rejected direct negotiations with the United States last month, warning his officialdom that the Trump administration was not to be trusted after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal during his first term.
Broder context
Republican Senator John Hoeven was more supportive of the plan to engage with Iran while it was weakened by Israeli onslaught in Gaza and Lebanon and American attacks on Houthis in Yemen.
“It’s very important that we have direct negotiations,” he told Iran International on Tuesday, adding that a deal that stops Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons would be unlikely without face-to-face engagement while hitting Tehran's regional allies.
“The Houthis are funded and supported by Iran. They are a proxy of Iran's,” he said. “So when we go after the Houthis, that's another way of going after Iran.”
President Trump has ordered several airstrikes on the rebel group, warning Tehran that it will be held responsible for all attacks emanating from Yemen.
Hoeven said the strikes were a message to Tehran that it has to stop supporting armed groups across the region.
“This state backed terror by Iran has to stop,” he said, listing groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iran-backed groups in Iraq.
