Tehran, Iran – Iranian officials described the latest talks with the United States as “positive,” but mediated negotiations in Oman offered no roadmap to ease growing fears of a US attack.
Iran’s team in Muscat on Friday was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while Washington sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. US Central Command chief Brad Cooper, the most senior commander in the region, also joined the US delegation.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
Speaking to Iranian television in Muscat after the talks, Araghchi said the indirect effort was a “good start” but a decision on how to proceed to the next round would be made “after consultation with the capitals”.
But Araghchi cautioned that there is an atmosphere of “mistrust” since the US briefly became involved in a 12-day war with Iran after the US military attacked Iran’s nuclear sites, just days before the sixth round of similarly mediated indirect talks.
Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman’s foreign minister, met separately with the US and Iranian sides several times on Friday to convey messages between the teams.
“It was helpful to clarify Iranian and American thinking and identify areas for potential progress,” he said, adding that the goal was to “reunite at the right time.”
According to a statement from Oman’s foreign ministry, the consultation is “focused on creating the right conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations”.
The talks in Muscat came after a week of confusion over Washington’s position USS Abraham Lincoln Supercarrier and supporting warships and fighter jets near Iranian waters and strengthening air defenses at bases used by US forces throughout the region, as well as shooting down Iranian drones.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if a new deal is not reached with the US on a number of issues in recent weeks.
red line
The U.S. wants Iran to completely stop enriching uranium, even at a civilian-use rate of 3.67 percent, in line with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Iran had enriched up to 60 percent of its main nuclear facility in June before it was destroyed or significantly damaged by a US bomb.
Washington wants to limit the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles – a key tool in the country’s arsenal – and ensure Tehran-aligned armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria no longer receive any military or financial support.
Several European powers have backed US demands, such as the far-right government in Israel, which wants to undermine a strong military rival in the region.
But the Iranian government has insisted that only nuclear issues will be negotiated to lift and de-escalate sanctions, saying talks on missiles or any other issue are a red line. As Argachi reiterated on Friday, he also wants the US war threats to end.
Iranian commanders have also said they are highly prepared for a regional war, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday demonstrated a new test launch of one of the country’s top ballistic missiles.
Iran’s Press TV said the Khorramshahr-4 missile, capable of reaching Israeli and US bases across the region, was placed on a mobile launcher that was deployed from here. An underground base.
Yadollah Javani, political deputy of the IRGC, said that “unveiling the missile means we will not give up our military power even if we sit at the negotiating table”.
‘Situation worse than war’
People in Iran are watching these developments closely.
But there are signs of cautious optimism in the five rounds of negotiations over the past year. 12 day war with Israel.
Soroush, a resident of Tehran, told Al Jazeera that he hoped the negotiations would end the shadow of war hanging over Iran.
“War not only brings fear and anxiety but also doubles the economic pressure,” he said, as the country deals with one of these. Highest inflation rate in the world.
But another resident, Maryam, said she believed the negotiations would not succeed because of the state of conflict on both sides and would “definitely lead to war”.
Furious Unprecedented killing of thousands of people Frustrated by last month’s nationwide protests and prolonged uncertainty and pressure, some are actually welcoming the military surge.
“War is not a good thing, but the situation we are living in now is bigger and more serious than war,” said the emir in the capital. “I don’t think war will create anything worse than what already exists.”
The Iranian government says 3,117 people were killed during the protests and that “terrorists” and “rioters” are to blame, not state forces. A controversial list of victims has also been released this week Just raised more questions.
The United Nations and international human rights organizations say they have documented the widespread use of lethal weapons by state forces, as well as attacks on hospitals and medical staff helping injured protesters. Rights groups say the actual death toll is far higher than official figures.