Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities described the latest talks with the United States in Oman as “positive”, while US President Donald Trump said the indirect discussions were “very good”, but the mediated negotiations in Oman have yet to offer a roadmap to alleviate growing fears of a US attack.
Speaking to Iranian television in Muscat on Friday after the talks finished, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the indirect talks got off to “a good start” and that a decision on how to proceed with further rounds would be taken after “consulting with the capitals”
Araghchi also cautioned that there was a climate of “mistrust” after the US military attacked Iran’s nuclear sites when it briefly joined Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June, days before a sixth round of similarly mediated indirect talks had been scheduled.
President Trump, speaking to reporters later on board Air Force One, said the US had “very good” talks on Iran and said more were planned for early next week.
But Trump also kept up his threats, warning that if Iran did not make a deal over its nuclear programme, “the consequences are very steep”.
“Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly – as they should,” Trump said, suggesting Tehran may be willing to “do more” than in previous talks, but he did not give details.
Iran’s team at the indirect talks in Muscat was led by Araghchi, while Washington sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and 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
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi met with the US and Iranian sides separately multiple times on Friday and conveyed messages between the teams
It was useful to clarify both Iranian and American thinking and identify areas for possible progress,” he said, adding that the aim is to “reconvene in due course”.
Consultations “focused on creating appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations”, according to a statement from Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The talks come as Trump considers military options against Iran. The US has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier and supporting warships and fighter jets near Iranian waters, strengthened air defences in bases used by the US military across the region, while US forces also shot down an Iranian drone this week.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if it does not reach a new agreement with the US on several issues.
Red lines
The US wants Iran to fully abandon enriching uranium, even at the 3.67 percent civilian-use rate agreed under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Iran used to enrich up to 60 percent before its main nuclear facilities were destroyed or significantly damaged by US bombs in June.
Washington also wants to limit the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles – the main tool in the country’s arsenal – and ensure that Tehran’s aligned armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria will no longer receive any military or financial support.
Several European powers have expressed support for the US demands, as has the far-right government in Israel, which wants to undermine a substantive military rival in the region.