White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that US-Iran talks in Oman on Saturday will be direct, dismissing Tehran’s insistence the discussions will be indirect.

“They will be direct talks on Saturday,” Leavitt told reporters, saying she had no more details to share.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that US-Iran talks in Oman on Saturday will be direct, dismissing Tehran’s insistence the discussions will be indirect.

“They will be direct talks on Saturday,” Leavitt told reporters, saying she had no more details to share.

President Donald Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect.”

“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media.

“If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingness, a deal can be found... The ball is in America’s court.”
Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic Republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.

“We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters.

Araghchi said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the US provided Washington shows sufficient goodwill in the talks in Oman on Saturday.