TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian officials have described recent talks with the United States in Oman as “positive,” and U.S. President Donald Trump has said indirect talks were “very good,” but the mediated talks in Oman have yet to offer a roadmap to alleviate growing concerns about a U.S. attack.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Muscat’s Iranian TV on Friday after the talks concluded that indirect talks had gotten off to a “good start” and that future rounds would be decided after “consultations with the capital.”
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Araghchi also warned that an atmosphere of “mistrust” had been created following the U.S. military’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, when it briefly joined the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, just days before a sixth round of similarly mediated indirect talks was scheduled.
President Trump later told reporters aboard Air Force One that the United States had had “very good” talks on Iran and said further talks were planned for early next week.
But Trump also continued to threaten Iran, warning that “the consequences are very grave” if Iran fails to reach a deal over its nuclear program.
“It looks like Iran very much wants a deal, and rightly so,” Trump said, suggesting that Iran may be willing to “do more” than in previous talks, without elaborating.
The Iranian team for the indirect talks in Muscat was led by Aragushi, while the US government sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The region’s top commander, U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper, also joined the U.S. delegation.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi held multiple separate meetings with the American and Iranian sides on Friday and conveyed messages between the teams.
“It was helpful to clarify the thinking of both Iran and the United States and to identify areas of potential progress,” he said, adding that the aim was “to reconvene at an appropriate time.”
A statement from Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the talks “focused on creating appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations.”
The meeting took place as President Trump considers military options against Iran. The United States moved the super aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, support warships and fighter jets closer to Iranian territorial waters and strengthened air defenses at bases used by American forces across the region, while the U.S. military also shot down an Iranian drone this week.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal with the United States on several issues.
red line
The United States wants Iran to completely abandon uranium enrichment, even at the 3.67% civilian utilization rate agreed to under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that President Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Iran was enriching up to 60% until its main nuclear facilities were destroyed or severely damaged by U.S. bombs in June.
Washington also wants to limit the range of ballistic missiles, a major tool in Iran’s arsenal, and to ensure that Iran’s allied armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria receive no future military or financial support.
Several European powers have expressed support for the U.S. demands, as has Israel’s far-right government, which wants to weaken its de facto military rival in the region.
But Tehran has repeatedly stressed that talks on missiles and other topics are a red line that should not be crossed, and that it will only negotiate on the nuclear issue in order to lift sanctions and ease tensions. As Araguchi reiterated Friday, he also wants the U.S. threat of war to end.
Iranian commanders also say they remain highly prepared for a regional war, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on Thursday unveiled a new test of the country’s top ballistic missile.
Iranian Press TV said the Khorram Shahr-4 missile is capable of reaching Israeli and US military bases across the region and was mounted on a mobile launcher taken from an underground base.
“The release of the missiles means that even though we have come to the negotiating table, we will not give up military power,” said Yadol Javani, a political deputy for the Revolutionary Guards.
“Situation worse than war”
Iranians are watching this development closely.
But there are few signs of the cautious optimism seen during the five rounds of negotiations last year leading up to a 12-day war with Israel.
Soroush, who lives in Tehran, told Al Jazeera that he hoped the negotiations would lift the shadow of war hanging over Iran.
With the country facing some of the highest inflation rates in the world, “war not only brings fear and insecurity, but also multiplies economic pressures,” he said.
However, another resident, Mariam, said she believed the negotiations “will not be successful and will definitely lead to war” as both sides have conflicting positions.
Angered by the unprecedented thousands of people killed in last month’s nationwide protests and frustrated by the prolonged state of unpredictability and pressure, some have actually welcomed military escalation.
“War is not a good thing, but the situation we are living in now is in many ways bigger and tougher than the war itself,” Amir said from the capital. “I don’t think war will cause anything worse than what is already happening.”
The Iranian government said 3,117 people were killed during the protests and that “terrorists” and “insurgents” were to blame, not the national army. This week it also released a controversial list of victims, which only raised more questions.
The United Nations and international human rights organizations say they have documented widespread use of lethal force by state forces and attacks on hospitals and medical staff assisting injured protesters. Human rights groups say the real death toll is likely much higher than official figures.
