Egypt Daily News – The White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the upcoming U.S.-Iranian talks, to be hosted by Oman on Saturday, will be direct, denying Iran’s insistence that the discussions will be indirect.
Leavitt added, “The talks on Saturday will be direct,” noting that she had no further details.
This comes as the United States confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the special envoy for President Donald Trump, will lead the negotiations with Iran. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters, “Special envoy Witkoff will be there.”
Bruce said, “These are not negotiations,” explaining that the goal is “to determine what is possible in the talks” with Tehran. She added, “It’s a contact, a meeting, not a negotiation.”
For his part, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that he expects sanctions on Iran to be intensified if no agreement is reached with President Donald Trump regarding its nuclear program. He added in an interview with CNBC, “Definitely, I expect very strong sanctions on Iran, and I hope it will push them to abandon their nuclear program.”
Trump had unexpectedly announced late Monday that the U.S. would begin “direct” high-level talks with Iran on its nuclear program next Saturday, during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Tehran confirmed that the talks would be held in Oman but emphasized that they would be “indirect.”
After returning to the White House in January, Trump resumed his “maximum pressure” policy toward Tehran, but at the same time, he expressed openness to dialogue with Iran to reach a new nuclear deal.
