Talks between Iran and US will be held on Friday in Oman
The sultanate hosted multiple rounds of earlier nuclear talks between Iran and the US.
Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will take place on Friday in Oman, the Iranian foreign minister said, as tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content.
“I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements” Mr Araghchi wrote on X on Wednesday evening.
Earlier on Wednesday, a regional official said Iran was seeking a “different” type of meeting than that what had been proposed by Turkey, one focused exclusively on the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, with participation limited to Iran and the United States.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio had said US officials were working on maintaining a meeting with Iran this week.
Tensions between the countries have spiked after President Donald Trump suggested the US might use force against Iran in response to its crackdown on protesters.
Mr Trump also has been pushing Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear programme.
Iran’s reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday said he had instructed the foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the US, in the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate.
That signalled the move is supported by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all matters of state and previously dismissed any negotiations.
Mr Rubio said the US hoped to discuss a number of concerns beyond the nuclear issue, including discussions on Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for proxy networks across the region and the “treatment of their own people”.
“The leadership of Iran at the clerical level does not reflect the people of Iran. I know of no other country where there’s a bigger difference between the people who lead the country and the people who live there,” he told reporters.
Vice president JD Vance told The Megyn Kelly Show that diplomatic talks with Iran are challenging because of Tehran’s political system, overseen by Mr Khamenei.
“It’s a very weird country to conduct diplomacy with when you can’t even talk to the person who’s in charge of the country. That makes all of this much more complicated, and it makes the whole situation much more absurd,” Mr Vance said, noting that Mr Trump could speak directly by phone with the leaders of Russia, China or North Korea.
Mr Vance said Mr Trump’s bottom line is that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, asserting that other states in the region would quickly do the same.
Iran long has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful. However, Iranian officials in recent years have increasingly threatened to pursue the bomb.
Mr Vance said he believed Mr Trump would work to “accomplish what he can through non-military means. And if he feels like the military is the only option, then he’s ultimately going to choose that option”.
