Iran, US start crucial talks in Oman as confrontation looms

DUBAI: Iran and the United States started high-stakes negotiations in Oman on Friday (Feb 6) in efforts to overcome sharp differences over Tehran’s nuclear programme, but a dispute over widening the agenda risks derailing diplomacy and triggering another Middle East conflict.

While both sides have signalled readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington wants to expand the talks to also cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and “treatment of their own people”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

Iran has said it wants Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss only the nuclear issue in Muscat. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped mediate in Gaza ceasefire talks, is also due to take part in the talks.

“Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year. We engage in good faith and stand firm on our rights. Commitments need to be honoured,” Araqchi said on X on Friday.

Tehran’s clerical leadership remains deeply concerned that Trump may still carry out his threats to strike Iran after a military buildup by the US Navy near Iran.

In June, the US struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in the final stages of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Tehran has since said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.

The US naval buildup, which Trump has called a massive “armada”, has followed a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic in a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes.

“While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday told reporters.

Iran has vowed a harsh response to any military strike and has cautioned neighbouring Gulf Arab countries hosting US bases in the oil-rich region that they could be in the firing line if they were involved in an attack. Iran has one of the Middle East’s biggest stockpiles of ballistic missiles.