President Donald Trump made a surprising announcement during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that the United States would begin direct, high-level discussions with Iran about its nuclear program on Saturday. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said, “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started.” His remark came during a meeting initially intended to address Israel’s efforts to avoid US tariffs.

“Maybe a deal’s going to be made; that would be great. We are meeting very importantly on Saturday, at almost the highest level,” stated Trump.

Trump’s unexpected announcement came just a day after Iran rejected the idea of direct talks for a new agreement to limit its nuclear program, calling such discussions meaningless. Back in 2018, during his first term, the US president withdrew from the previous deal. Since then, there has been ongoing speculation that Israel, potentially with U.S. support, could strike Iran’s nuclear sites if a new deal isn’t reached.

Trump expressed, “everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious – and the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it.”

The unexpected announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first foreign leader to personally appeal to US President Donald Trump for relief from the US tariffs that have sent shockwaves globally. The Israeli Prime Minister promised to reduce the trade deficit and remove trade barriers with the US. In a gesture of goodwill, Israel lifted its remaining tariffs on US imports before meeting with the US President. Netanyahu expressed his belief that Israel could be present “as a model for many countries” in how it handles tariff negotiations.

Netanyahu and Trump also talked about the situation in Gaza, where a brief ceasefire arranged by the U.S. between Israel and Hamas has fallen apart. Netanyahu mentioned that new talks are underway to secure the release of more hostages from the conflict-ridden region.

“We’re working now on another deal that we hope will succeed, and we’re committed to getting all the hostages out,” Netanyahu stated in the Oval Office.

Trump reiterated his intention for the U.S. to take control of the Gaza Strip, referring to it as a “great piece of real estate”, a stance he had first shared during Netanyahu’s visit in February.

Earlier, Trump welcomed Netanyahu outside the West Wing with a fist pump. Both leaders, dressed in dark suits with red ties and white shirts, then headed into the Oval Office for a meeting. A scheduled press conference was abruptly cancelled without any explanation, which was unusual. However, the two leaders still had an extended conversation with a smaller group of pool reporters inside the Oval Office.

This marks the Israeli Prime Minister’s second visit to Trump since the U.S. president returned to office, and it was arranged on short notice, just days after Trump announced a 17 per cent tariff on Israel as part of his “Liberation Day” declaration last week.

Trump declined to make an exception for Israel, despite it being the largest recipient of U.S. military aid, stating that the U.S. has a considerable trade imbalance with the country. Upon arriving, Netanyahu met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Sunday night, as per his office. On Monday, he also talked with Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.