Trump says US will hold direct talks with Iran as he insists Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons
US President Donald Trump has said the US will hold direct talks with Iran starting on Saturday and insisted that Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons.
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The president confirmed the talks with Tehran would start on Saturday.
He insisted that Tehran cannot get nuclear weapons.
Trump made the comments following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where they also discussed trade.
Mr Trump said Iran will be 'in great danger' should talks to curb its nuclear programme fail.
Mr Trump made the threat in the Oval Office meeting with Mr Netanyahu at which he also announced that direct talks between Iran and the United States would begin this weekend.
"I think Iran is going to be in great danger" if the talks collapse, Mr Trump said. "And I hate to say it."
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Mr Trump did not disclose the venue for the meetings to begin on Saturday or say who from his administration would participate.
"We're dealing with them directly and maybe a deal is going to be made," Mr Trump said.
He added that "doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious."
Mr Trump said the talks would happen "at almost the highest level".
Whether Mr Netanyahu's visit succeeds in bringing down or eliminating Israel's tariffs remains to be seen, but how it plays out could set the stage for how other world leaders try to address the new tariffs.
Mr Netanyahu's office has put the focus of his hastily organised Washington visit on the tariffs, while stressing that the two leaders will discuss major geopolitical issues including the war in Gaza, tensions with Iran, Israel-Turkey ties and the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli leader last year.
Mr Trump in February signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israel.
Mr Netanyahu soon after arriving in Washington on Sunday evening met senior Trump administration officials, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and US trade representative Jameson Greer, to discuss the tariffs. And on Monday Mr Netanyahu met Steve Witkoff, Mr Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, ahead of his sit down with the president.
Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu are also expected to discuss Israel's hoped-for annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, which the Palestinians want as the heart of their future independent state.