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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has officially confirmed that indirect talks between Iran and the United States will take place this week. He announced this on his page on the social network X, noting: “Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for high-level indirect talks. This is both an opportunity and a test. The ball is in America’s court”.
According to the Iranian publication Nour News, the talks will be attended by Araqchi himself and US Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff. Although the report suggests the possibility of a face-to-face meeting, The New York Times ‘ sources deny this: according to them, the parties will be in different rooms, and diplomats from Oman will be passing messages between the delegations.
Iran has also stressed that it agrees to direct talks only if the current round is successfully completed. This format – with the involvement of intermediaries – has already been used by the Biden administration in previous stages of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Donald Trump’s statement about starting direct talks after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism from Iranian officials. They called it an attempt at psychological pressure. Nour News, which is considered to be close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described Trump’s words as a distortion of reality.
During the joint speech, Netanyahu emphasised: “We are united in the belief that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. If we manage to reach an agreement, it will be positive”.
Thus, Oman is once again acting as a neutral platform for a complex diplomatic dialogue that could determine the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and the security situation in the Middle East.
