Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump Says US Will Talk to Iran About Ending Tehran's Nuclear Weapons Program
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 weeks ago on
April 7, 2025

President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the West Wing of the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. will hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program, while warning the Iranians they would be in “great danger” if the talks don’t succeed in persuading them to abandon their nuclear weapons program.

The president, in comments to reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the talks will start Saturday. He insisted Tehran can’t get nuclear weapons.

“We’re dealing with them directly and maybe a deal is going to be made,” Trump said. He added that “doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious.”

Asked if he would commit to military action against Iran should his negotiators be unable to come to terms with Tehran, Trump responded that “Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it.”

“If the talks aren’t successful, I think it’s going to be a very bad day for Iran,” Trump said.

Iran’s mission at the United Nations had no immediate comment Monday.

Trump Sends Letter to Supreme Leader

Trump recently sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader calling for direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said late last month that Iran had rejected Trump’s entreaty while leaving open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington.

But Trump has consistently called on Iran, which is the chief sponsor of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen, to abandon its nuclear program or face a reckoning.

“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump told NBC News in late March. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

Tehran’s chief envoy to the U.N., Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, has called on members of the Security Council in a series of letters to condemn Trump’s threats of bombing Iran.

Trump during his first White House term withdrew the U.S. from the landmark nuclear accord with Iran negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration.

Israeli PM Says He Supports Trump’s Iranian Efforts

Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with Iran, adding that Israel and the U.S. share the same goal of ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

The Israeli leader, known for his hawkish views on Iran and past calls for military pressure, said he would welcome a diplomatic agreement along the lines of Libya’s deal with the international community in 2003.

“I think that would be a good thing,” he said. “But whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.”

Trump said the talks would happen “at almost the highest level,” but declined to say where the negotiations would take place or who he was dispatching for the sensitive diplomacy.

He announced plans for the surprise engagement as Netanyahu made a hastily arranged visit to the White House — his second in just over two months — to discuss the tariffs Trump has unleashed on countries around the world, Iran’s nuclear program and the Israel-Hamas war.

In withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Trump declared he was making the world safer, but he also deepened his isolation on the world stage and revived doubts about American credibility.

The agreement, which also included Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, had lifted most U.S. and international economic sanctions against Iran.

“I think it’ll be, different and maybe a lot stronger,” Trump said on how a new deal might be different from the one negotiated by Obama officials.

Trump, Netanyahu Discuss Several Other Issues

Trump and Netanyahu said they also discussed tensions with Iran, Israel-Turkey ties and the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant against the Israeli leader last year. Trump in February signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israel.

Before his meeting with Netanyahu, Trump held a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. All three leaders have been key interlocutors in efforts to tamp down tensions in the Middle East and bring an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

The prime minister soon after arriving in Washington on Sunday evening met with senior Trump administration officials, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer, to discuss the tariffs. And Netanyahu met on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, ahead of his sit down with the president.

On tariffs, Netanyahu said he assured Trump that his government would move to erase United States trade deficit.

“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu said “We intend to do it very quickly.”

Eytan Gilboa, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations, said he expected Trump to use the tariffs as leverage to force concessions from Netanyahu.

In Israel’s case, those concessions might not be economic. Trump may pressure Netanyahu to move toward ending the war in Gaza — at the very least through some interim truce with Hamas that would pause the fighting and free more hostages.

Gilboa said Trump is hoping to return from his first overseas trip — expected next month to Saudi Arabia — with some movement on a deal to normalize relations with Israel, which would likely require significant Israeli concessions on Gaza.

If he does manage to move toward bolstering ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, that would act as a regional diplomatic counterweight to pressure Iran, against which Trump has threatened new sanctions and suggested military action over its nuclear program.

Israel Earlier Said It Would End Tariffs on US Goods

In a preemptive move last week, Israel announced that it was removing all tariffs on goods from the U.S., mostly on imported food and agricultural products, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

But the tactic failed, and with a 17% rate, Israel was just one of dozens of countries that were slapped with tariffs on Trump’s so-called Liberation Day last week.

Although Israel is a tiny market for U.S. products, the United States is a key trade partner of Israel. Much of that trade is for high-tech services, which are not directly affected by the tariffs, but key Israeli industries could be impacted.

The Manufacturers Association of Israel estimates that the tariffs will cost Israel about $3 billion in exports each year and lead to the loss of 26,000 jobs in industries that include biotechnology, chemicals, plastics and electronics. The World Bank says Israel’s gross domestic product, a measure of economic output, is over $500 billion a year.

“The damage won’t stop at exports,” said Ron Tomer, the group’s president. “It will scare investors, encourage companies to leave Israel and undermine our image as a global center of innovation.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

California Senator Will Make Historic Appearance at Fresno City College Commencement

DON'T MISS

Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Cairo Near ‘Significant Breakthrough,’ Two Security Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Farmer Sentenced to Prison in $650,000 Crop Insurance Fraud Case

DON'T MISS

Where Were the Most Car Crashes in Clovis? Police Release List

DON'T MISS

Protesters to Rally in Brooklyn After Pro-Israel Crowd Assaults Woman

DON'T MISS

Selma Teen’s Death May Be Tied to Fentanyl, Police Say

DON'T MISS

Blast Kills at Least 26 People in Nigeria’s Northeast, Residents Say

DON'T MISS

5-Year-Old Girl and Parents Among Those Dead in Vehicle Ramming in Vancouver

DON'T MISS

Feds Again Bump Up Water Allocation for Many Fresno County Farmers

DON'T MISS

Levi Strauss Shareholders Vote Against Proposal to End Diversity Programs

UP NEXT

Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Cairo Near ‘Significant Breakthrough,’ Two Security Sources Say

UP NEXT

Fresno County Farmer Sentenced to Prison in $650,000 Crop Insurance Fraud Case

UP NEXT

Where Were the Most Car Crashes in Clovis? Police Release List

UP NEXT

Protesters to Rally in Brooklyn After Pro-Israel Crowd Assaults Woman

UP NEXT

Selma Teen’s Death May Be Tied to Fentanyl, Police Say

UP NEXT

Blast Kills at Least 26 People in Nigeria’s Northeast, Residents Say

UP NEXT

5-Year-Old Girl and Parents Among Those Dead in Vehicle Ramming in Vancouver

UP NEXT

Feds Again Bump Up Water Allocation for Many Fresno County Farmers

UP NEXT

Levi Strauss Shareholders Vote Against Proposal to End Diversity Programs

UP NEXT

US and Mexico Have Reached Agreement on New World Screwworm, Ag Secretary Rollins Says

Where Were the Most Car Crashes in Clovis? Police Release List

12 hours ago

Protesters to Rally in Brooklyn After Pro-Israel Crowd Assaults Woman

13 hours ago

Selma Teen’s Death May Be Tied to Fentanyl, Police Say

13 hours ago

Blast Kills at Least 26 People in Nigeria’s Northeast, Residents Say

13 hours ago

5-Year-Old Girl and Parents Among Those Dead in Vehicle Ramming in Vancouver

14 hours ago

Feds Again Bump Up Water Allocation for Many Fresno County Farmers

14 hours ago

Levi Strauss Shareholders Vote Against Proposal to End Diversity Programs

14 hours ago

US and Mexico Have Reached Agreement on New World Screwworm, Ag Secretary Rollins Says

15 hours ago

Death Toll in Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port Blast Rises to 70

15 hours ago

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

15 hours ago

California Senator Will Make Historic Appearance at Fresno City College Commencement

For the first time in Fresno City College’s 115-year history, a United States senator will speak at its commencement ceremony. California De...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

California Senator Will Make Historic Appearance at Fresno City College Commencement

Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip April 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa)
12 hours ago

Gaza Ceasefire Talks in Cairo Near ‘Significant Breakthrough,’ Two Security Sources Say

12 hours ago

Fresno County Farmer Sentenced to Prison in $650,000 Crop Insurance Fraud Case

12 hours ago

Where Were the Most Car Crashes in Clovis? Police Release List

Officers with the New York Police Department outside the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, on Monday, April 28, 2025. The Police Department said it was preparing for new protests in Brooklyn on Monday after a woman was verbally and physically assaulted by hundreds of pro-Israel demonstrators there last week. (Victor J. Blue/The New York Times)
13 hours ago

Protesters to Rally in Brooklyn After Pro-Israel Crowd Assaults Woman

13 hours ago

Selma Teen’s Death May Be Tied to Fentanyl, Police Say

At least 26 people were killed and three injured on Monday when two vehicles struck an improvised explosive device in Nigeria’s insurgency-hit Borno state, an attack residents blamed on Boko Haram. (Shutterstock)
13 hours ago

Blast Kills at Least 26 People in Nigeria’s Northeast, Residents Say

Visitors pay their respects at a memorial after a vehicle drove into a crowd during a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP/Lindsey Wasson)
14 hours ago

5-Year-Old Girl and Parents Among Those Dead in Vehicle Ramming in Vancouver

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend