The United States and Iran are set to engage in high-level discussions in Oman to revive negotiations concerning Tehran’s rapidly progressing nuclear program, as US President Donald Trump has threatened military intervention if an agreement is not reached.
According to Iranian media, delegations from both Iran and the US have landed in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is at the head of the Iranian delegation, while US President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will manage the discussions for the American side.
Iran is approaching the talks with caution, expressing skepticism about the potential for an agreement and harboring distrust towards Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly warned of military action against Iran if it continues its increasing uranium enrichment activities.
Iranian state television shared a video on its website depicting Mr. Araqchi’s meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi in Muscat.
“In the framework of indirect Iran-US negotiations, Araqchi presented his Omani counterpart with Tehran’s essential points and positions to be relayed to the US,” reported Iranian state media.
Any positive developments could help de-escalate tensions in a region that has been engulfed in turmoil since 2023, marked by conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, missile exchanges between Iran and Israel, Houthi assaults on Red Sea shipping, and the ousting of the Syrian government.
Conversely, a failure in these talks would heighten concerns over a larger conflict in a region that is a major oil exporter.
An Iranian individual reads a newspaper on a street in Tehran, featuring headlines about the Iran-US discussions.
Tehran has warned neighboring countries hosting US bases that they would face “severe consequences” should they become involved in any US military action against Iran.
“There is a possibility for initial understanding for further negotiations if the other party (the US) approaches the discussions with an equal stance,” Araqchi stated in an interview with Iranian television.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds ultimate authority on key state issues within the Islamic Republic’s intricate power hierarchy, has granted Araqchi “full authority” for the negotiations, according to an Iranian official.
“The duration of the talks, which will focus exclusively on the nuclear issue, will depend on the US’s sincerity and goodwill,” the official, who wished to remain anonymous, mentioned.
Iran has ruled out discussions concerning its defense capabilities, including its ballistic missile program.
Longstanding Dispute
Iran has consistently denied ambitions for nuclear weapons; however, Western nations and Israel suspect it of covertly striving to develop the capacity to create an atomic bomb.
They argue that Iran’s uranium enrichment has far exceeded the needs of a civilian energy program and has produced stocks at fissile purity levels nearing those required for warheads.
Mr. Trump, having reinstated a “maximum pressure” strategy on Tehran since February, abandoned a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers in 2018 during his initial term, subsequently reimposing severe sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Since that time, Iran’s nuclear program has advanced significantly, including enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, which is just a technical step away from the levels needed for a nuclear weapon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed on Thursday his hopes that the talks would pave the way for peace, stating: “We’ve been very clear that Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon, and I believe that has contributed to this meeting.”
Tehran responded the following day, indicating that it is offering the United States a “genuine opportunity” despite what it termed Washington’s “prevailing confrontational hoopla.”
Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East, views Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and has long threatened military action against Iran if diplomatic efforts do not succeed in curbing its nuclear aspirations.
Over the past 18 months, Tehran’s influence in the Middle East has significantly diminished, as its regional allies, known as the “Axis of Resistance,” have either been dismantled or severely weakened since the onset of the Hamas-Israel conflict in Gaza and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria in December.
