Muscat, Oman. Iran and the United States moved toward high-stakes negotiations via Omani mediation on Friday to try to overcome sharp differences over Tehran’s nuclear programme, amid a dispute over expanding the agenda.
The disagreement risked derailing diplomacy and raising the prospect of another Middle East conflict.
Status of talks and Oman’s role
An Iranian official told Reuters the talks had not officially started, though Iran’s demands had been conveyed to the United States via Oman. The official said indirect negotiations “possibly” would begin after a meeting between the top U.S. negotiator and Oman’s foreign minister, in an approach similar to shuttle diplomacy used in previous Iran-U.S. talks.
Dispute over scope of negotiations
While both sides have indicated readiness to revive diplomacy over the nuclear dispute, Washington wants to expand the talks to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and the “treatment of their own people,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.
An Iranian diplomatic source told Reuters that any “presence of CENTCOM (U.S. Central Command) or any regional military officials in the talks can jeopardize the process of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States” in Oman.
Iran has said it wants Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss only the nuclear issue in Muscat. U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped mediate in Gaza ceasefire talks, is also due to take part in the discussions.
Rising tensions and recent military actions
Tehran’s clerical leadership remains worried that Trump may carry out threats to strike Iran after a U.S. Navy military buildup near Iran.
In June, the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining the final stages of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Tehran has since said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.
The naval buildup, which Trump has called a massive “armada,” followed a government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, further increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached, increasing pressure in a standoff marked by mutual threats of air strikes. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the president had “many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy,” referring to his role as commander-in-chief.
What outcome do you expect from the Oman-mediated Iran-U.S. talks?
