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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he expected talks with the US to resume soon, while US President Donald Trump promised to hold talks again next week after talks mediated by Oman.
Aragushi told Al Jazeera on Saturday that Iran’s missile program was “absolutely non-negotiable” during Friday’s talks, warning that if the United States attacked Iranian territory, Iran would target American military bases in the Middle East.
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He added that although the negotiations in Muscat were indirect, “an opportunity arose to shake hands with the US delegation.” He said the talks were a “good start” but stressed that “there is a long way to go to build trust.”
But Iranians in the capital, Tehran, don’t seem so positive.
“In my opinion, as before, the negotiations will end without any result because both sides will stick to their positions and will not back down,” the woman, who requested anonymity, told Al Jazeera.
Abdullah al-Shaidi, a U.S. foreign policy expert at Kuwait University, said he was hopeful for a new agreement between the two adversaries, but was not optimistic.
Speaking at the Al Jazeera Forum in Qatar’s capital Doha, al-Shaidi said the United States “has a strong position” and Israel is “provoked” to “tighten down on the Iranians because we feel that Iran is the most vulnerable,” making it easier to extract concessions from Iran, especially after last month’s anti-government demonstrations.
“Unalienable rights”
Despite calling Friday’s meeting “very good,” Trump signed an executive order effective Saturday calling for “imposition of tariffs” on countries that continue to do business with Iran.
The United States also announced new sanctions against a number of shipping companies and vessels aimed at curbing Iranian oil exports.
According to World Trade Organization data, more than a quarter of Iran’s trade will be with China, with imports valued at $18 billion and exports valued at $14.5 billion in 2024.
Nuclear enrichment is Iran’s “inalienable right and must continue,” Alagussi said, adding: “We are ready to reach a reassuring agreement on enrichment. Iran’s nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations.”
Iran’s missile program is non-negotiable because it relates to “defense issues,” he said.
According to media reports, the United States is seeking to address Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for regional militant groups, issues that Israel has asked to be included in the talks.
The Iranian government has repeatedly refused to expand the scope of negotiations beyond the nuclear issue.
“The Iranians are vehemently opposed to any concessions,” al-Shaidi said, as is the United States, making it extremely difficult for countries leading mediation efforts to “reach a compromise between the two sides.”
Friday’s talks were the first since nuclear talks between Iran and the United States collapsed last year in the wake of Israel’s unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran, which sparked a 12-day war.
Following widespread anti-government protests in Iran last month, President Trump stepped up his threats against the country by dispatching the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
“Peace through power”
Trump’s chief negotiator in Oman, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House Chief of Staff Jared Kushner visited an aircraft carrier stationed in the Arabian Sea on Saturday.
Witkoff said in a social media post that the carrier and its strike group “keep us safe and protect President Trump’s message of peace through force.”
Witkoff said he spoke with the pilot who shot down an Iranian drone that approached the carrier on Tuesday “without clear intent.”
“I’m proud to stand alongside the men and women who watch every day, protect our interests, thwart our adversaries, and show the world what American preparedness and determination stand for,” Witkoff said.
President Trump has sought to use the aircraft carrier deployment as a way to put pressure on Iran, but Al-Shaidi said this could not be a long-term strategy.
“He (President Trump) cannot keep the military on alert for too long. This would greatly undermine the credibility of the Trump administration, which has taken a very tough and hard line on Iran.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Iran negotiations, his office said in a statement.
Referring to Iran’s allies in the region, the report said Netanyahu “believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis.”
During the 12-day war, US warplanes bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
Arraguchi expressed hope that the US government would refrain from “intimidation and pressure” so that “talks can continue.”
