Trump says U.S. dealing with Iran directly on nuclear program

President Trump said Monday that the U.S. and Iran are starting direct talks about Tehran’s nuclear program.

“We’re dealing with the Iranians. We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we’re dealing with them directly,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, maybe you’re going through surrogates or you’re not dealing directly. You’re dealing through other countries.’ No, we’re dealing with them directly,” he said.

The president said the talks cannot fail because Iran would be in “great danger” and “can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

Mr. Trump’s announcement came as a surprise after Iranian officials seemed to reject U.S. calls for such talks over the weekend.

Iran had refused Mr. Trump’s requirements that it directly negotiate over its nuclear program or be bombed. It initially allowed for indirect discussions.

Mr. Trump said, “Maybe a deal is going to be made. That would be great. It would be really great for Iran. I can tell you that.”

The president said he would prefer reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program to a military conflict. He noted that he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on March 7 to suggest talks.

Iranian officials said at the time that Tehran would not be forced into negotiations.

If the talks with Iran are unsuccessful, Mr. Trump said, it will be a “very bad day for Iran.”

“I think Iran is going to be in great danger,” he said.

“Because they can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s not a complicated formula. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Can’t have it.”

During his first term, Mr. Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 agreement between Iran and other world powers that placed limits on Iran’s nuclear actions in exchange for lifting sanctions. Mr. Trump reimposed these sanctions.

He said some other countries have nuclear weapons but shouldn’t. “I’m sure we’ll be able to negotiate out of that too as part of this later on down the line.”

Mr. Trump also discussed his tariffs. He said he was “not looking” at a pause on tariffs, but when asked about negotiations or whether the tariffs were permanent, he said, “They both can be true.”

“I will say this: Virtually every country wants to negotiate. If I didn’t do what I did over the last couple of weeks, you wouldn’t have anybody who wants to negotiate. … Now, they’re coming to us. They’re offering things.”

Mr. Netanyahu, whose country faces a 17% tariff on goods exported to the U.S., promised to eliminate Israel’s trade deficit with the U.S.

“We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do, and we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily,” Mr. Netanyahu, seated next to Mr. Trump, told reporters in the Oval Office.

He said Israel “can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same.”

“I recognize the position of the United States. It says, you know, ‘We’re allowing other countries to put tariffs on us, and we don’t put tariffs on them,’” he said. “I’m a free trade champion. And free trade has to be fair trade.

“We’re going to eliminate the tariffs, and rapidly,” he said.

Mr. Trump was unwavering about the tariffs on Israeli goods, saying, “Maybe not,” when asked whether he would remove them.

“Don’t forget we help Israel a lot. You know, we give Israel $4 billion a year. That’s a lot,” Mr. Trump said.

He said he had not raised tariffs on Russia because “we’re not doing business essentially with Russia.”

“They’re in a war, and I’m not happy about what’s going on with the bombing,” he said. “They’re bombing like crazy right now. They’re bombing. I don’t know what’s going on right now. That’s not a good situation.”

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Trump discussed a deal to get the remaining hostages home from the Gaza Strip, both dead and alive.

He said Israel is committed to getting all the hostages released and eliminating Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that captured the hostages when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“We hope we will succeed,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “We’re committed to getting all of the hostages out.”