Trump to be ‘indirectly’ involved in Iran nuclear negotiations

The president says Tehran does not want to face the consequences of not making a deal as a second round of talks opens in Geneva amid a U.S. military buildup.

U.S. President Donald Trump will “indirectly” take part in U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations set to begin on Tuesday in Geneva, he said on Monday, expressing optimism that Tehran wants an agreement despite recent tensions. Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said, “I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen.”

“Iran’s a very tough negotiator—they’re good negotiators, or bad negotiators,” he added. “I would say they’re bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal.” Asked whether he had been told a deal was nearly impossible, Trump responded, “No, no. I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in Geneva for what will be a second round of indirect, Oman-mediated talks after an initial meeting in Muscat, with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to lead the American delegation, according to Iranian state media and previous White House statements.

Araghchi met with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi in Geneva on Monday in what both men described in X posts as “in-depth technical discussions,” with Araghchi saying that “nuclear experts” would join the talks. Araghchi also said on Monday that he was meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. talks. (Ed note: One can see that FM Araghchi is already in Geneva working this whole affair, and waiting for the Americans to show up. And what is this "indirect" thing? Is that like being a little bit "pregnant"?) (Read More)