TEHRAN -- Iran said on Friday it was giving 
nuclear talks with the United States on Saturday “a genuine chance”, after President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement that Washington and Tehran would begin talks in Oman.
The talks would be led by Foreign 
Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. 
special envoy Steve Witkoff, with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi as intermediary.
The Iranian foreign ministry said on Friday the U.S. should value the Islamic Republic’s decision to engage in talks 
despite Washington’s “prevailing confrontational hoopla”.
“We intend to assess the other side’s intent and resolve this Saturday,” spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei posted on X. “In earnest and with candid vigilance, we are giving diplomacy a genuine chance.”
Baghaei said Iran will “neither prejudge nor predict” ahead of Saturday’s talks in Oman, a long-established venue for Iranian talks. 
 coercion.”
Iran has rejected direct negotiations with Washington. “Important and practical” Iranian proposals have been prepared in pursuit of “a real and fair” agreement, Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said in a post on X.
“If Washington comes to the talks with sincere intentions and genuine will to reach an agreement, the path to a deal will be clear and smooth,” Shamkhani added.
Shamkhani said Araghchi was heading to neighboring Oman with “full authority” for indirect talks.
The U.S. and Iran held indirect talks during President Joe Biden’s term that ended in January but made little if any progress. The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under president Barack Obama.