Trump: US had ‘very good’ talks with Iran, next round to be held early next week

White House says president enacted new tariffs on countries that import Iranian goods; Iran’s FM insists country willing to discuss only nuclear program, not ballistic missiles

US President Donald Trump said Washington had “very good talks” with Tehran on Friday, after the two sides began indirect negotiations in Oman’s capital Muscat that could avert a military escalation.

“We… had very good talks on Iran. Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly, as they should,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the weekend.

“We’re going to meet again early next week,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said on Al Jazeera on Saturday that the talks were a “good start” and that the sides had agreed the next round “should be held soon,” but added that no date had been set.

Despite the talks being indirect, “an opportunity arose to shake hands with the American delegation,” said Araghchi, amid reports that he met face-to-face with US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Muscat.

But contrary to the US demand that the talks address Iran’s ballistic missile programs and support for regional terror groups, Araghchi insisted Iran would discuss only nuclear issues.

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei called Trump a “liar,” insisting on X that Iran “has not backed down from its red lines and will not do so.”

“It is these Americans who, after the failure of their other options (military, economic, terrorist and so on), now have no choice but to accept the frameworks and the rights of the Iranian nation,” said Rezaei, who is the spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

Trump’s comments came as the White House announced he had signed an executive order on Friday imposing secondary tariffs on any country that imports goods from Iran. The US also announced new sanctions against numerous shipping entities and vessels, aimed at curbing Iran’s oil exports.

More than a quarter of Iran’s trade is with China, with $18 billion in imports and $14.5 billion in exports in 2024, according to World Trade Organization data.

The moves will place further economic strain on Iran, where millions took to the streets nationwide last month in anti-regime protests stoked by a cost-of-living crisis.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear program, after earlier ordering a naval buildup in the region amid Tehran’s bloody crackdown on the protests, in which thousands of Iranians were killed and tens of thousands detained.

The indirect talks on Friday were the first negotiations between US and Iranian officials since the US struck key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June.

Speaking with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Araghchi reiterated Tehran’s threat that it would strike US bases in the Middle East if it were attacked by the US forces that have amassed in the region.

Araghchi insisted that this should not be seen as an attack on the bases’ host nations, which include Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“It would not be possible to attack American soil, but we will target their bases in the region,” he said. “We will not attack neighboring countries; rather, we will target US bases stationed in them. There is a big difference between the two.”

While both sides have indicated readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Araghchi balked at broadening the talks, saying Iran’s ballistic missile program was “never negotiable” because it relates to a “defense issue.”

“Any dialogue requires refraining from threats and pressure. [Tehran] only discusses its nuclear issue … We do not discuss any other issue with the US,” he said.

He added that the nuclear program itself is Iran’s “inalienable right and must continue,” but said it was “ready to reach a reassuring agreement” on uranium enrichment, adding that “the Iranian nuclear case will only be resolved through negotiations.”

Iran, whose leaders are sworn to Israel’s destruction, has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and has claimed it halted uranium enrichment activity since the war with Israel.

However, the Islamic Republic has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.