President Trump spoke on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and the nuclear talks with Iran, according to Israeli and U.S. officials.

Why it matters: The phone call took place amid a stalemate in the Gaza negotiations after another failed attempt last week by the U.S. and Egypt to put forward a bridging proposal both sides could accept.

President Donald Trump has adopted a significantly more pragmatic approach to negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme than was the case in his first term.

Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

Iran and the United States have begun talks in Oman over Tehran's nuclear programme - the highest level meeting between the two nations since 2018.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian state television his country wanted a "fair agreement", with his spokesperson saying he did not expect talks to last long.

Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. will engage "directly" with Iran in a high-level meeting set to occur this coming Saturday. 

"We have a very big meeting on Saturday, and we're dealing with them directly," Trump told reporters from the Oval Office while sitting next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The announced meeting is the first known time the U.S. will directly engage with Iran since the previous Trump administration, when it withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. 

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."