US President Donald Trump discussed ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said Thursday.
Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump discussed a "potential deal with Iran" with Netanyahu, saying the president believes the talks are "moving along in the right direction."
"As the president told me, and he's told all of you, this deal with Iran could end in two ways. It could end in a very positive diplomatic solution, or it could end in a very negative situation for Iran. So that's why these talks are taking place later this week," she added.
Leavitt was alluding to the fifth round of indirect talks, which mediator Oman announced will take place Friday in Rome. Negotiations have been ongoing since April.
Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear agreement struck between Iran and world powers in 2018 and spent much of his first term ramping up pressure on Iran in a bid to bring them back to negotiations for a “better" deal.
Trump's first term concluded without bringing Iran back to talks despite imposing a "maximum pressure" campaign. But the US president has resumed the push after reassuming office, warning Iran that it would face military consequences if it did not agree to a new agreement.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that he does not believe the negotiations will lead to "any meaningful outcome."
Khamenei also dismissed recent demands by US officials for Iran to dismantle its uranium enrichment program, calling the remarks “nonsense.”
Uranium enrichment has become a main sticking point in the negotiations. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that Iran’s enrichment program will continue "with or without a deal."
His comments came shortly after US special envoy Steve Witkoff said any agreement must include a provision to entirely halt Tehran’s enrichment, a US position reinforced by the White House as a “red line."
