President Trump announced Monday that his administration would convene direct talks with Iran later this week — saying that he hopes for “a deal” to avoid “the obvious” military alternative.

“We’re having direct talks with Iran,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office while hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to eliminate Israel's trade deficit with the United States after the Trump administration-imposed 17 percent tariffs on Israeli goods last week.

President Trump said Monday that the U.S. had been holding "direct talks" with Iran and that a "very big meeting" involving "very high-level" officials will be taking place this Saturday.

The White House is seriously considering an Iranian proposal for indirect nuclear talks, while at the same time significantly boosting U.S. forces in the Middle East in case President Trump opts for military strikes, two U.S. officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly said he'd prefer a deal, but warned that without one "there will be bombing." His timeline is tight: Trump gave Iran a two-month deadline to reach a deal, but it's not clear if and when that clock started ticking.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened Iran with bombings and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said U.S. and Iranian officials were talking but did not elaborate.

Iran says it has readied "a significant number" of advanced missiles capable of striking American bases and military outposts in the Middle East, drawing a sharp warning from the Trump administration.

Iran's "armed forces have readied missiles with the capability to strike U.S.-related positions," the Tehran Times, a state-controlled newspaper, reported on Monday. "A significant number of these launch-ready missiles are located in underground facilities scattered across the country, designed to withstand airstrikes."

Iran "will have no choice" but to seek nuclear weapons if attacked, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned.

The statement comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to bomb Iran if it does not agree to a new nuclear deal.

Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Iran's foreign ministry for comment.

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter President Trump sent earlier this month over the country's rapidly advancing nuclear program. It was Tehran's first official response to Mr. Trump's letter.

"Although the possibility of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected in this response, it has been emphasized that the path for indirect negotiations remains open," Pezeshkian said, adding Iran's response was delivered via the sultanate of Oman.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said calls for negotiations by “bully states” are aimed at dominating others, not resolving issues, after US President Donald Trump urged him to reach a nuclear deal.

The reformist and 'moderate' Masoud Pezeshkian has been elected as Iran's new president, defeating his hardline conservative rival Saeed Jalili, after gaining 53.3% of the 30+ million votes counted.

While Jalili was seen as the status quo candidate, by and large expected to continue his predecessor's policies, Pezeshkian, a heart surgeon and member of the Iranian parliament, has vowed to seek an end to the Islamic Republic's global isolation.