Talks with US were 'very good start' despite uncertainty, says Iran
Nuclear talks between the United States and Iran in Oman on Friday were a positive start and will continue, Iran’s foreign minister said, despite lingering uncertainty surrounding the negotiations.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with a delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Muscat, and both sides will now consult with their leaders.
Following the meeting, Araghchi said in a statement: “It was a good start to the negotiations. And there is an understanding on continuing the talks.”
“Coordination on how to proceed will be decided in the capitals”, he added, but acknowledged there was a “wall of mistrust” to be overcome.
Earlier, the foreign minister said the Iranian delegation was looking for "equal standing, mutual respect and mutual interest" in the negotiations.
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The talks were mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who said in a post on X that they had been “useful to clarify both Iranian and American thinking and identify areas for possible progress”.
Following weeks of escalating rhetoric, tensions are unlikely to ease quickly.
Moments after the indirect talks concluded, Washington announced new sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's oil exports, including targeting 14 vessels flagged in countries such as Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates. It also announced sanctions on 15 entities and two people.
US aircraft carriers, meanwhile, remain positioned off Iran’s coastal waters, with US Central Command releasing footage showing the Nimitz-class USS Abraham Lincoln conducting a replenishment operation in the Arabian Sea.
On Thursday, Iran’s army spokesperson, Brigadier-General Mohammad Akraminia, said the military was ready for war, which would “encompass the entire region and all US bases” if that is what the US wanted.
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded: “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.”
US President Donald Trump has previously warned that “bad things” would likely happen if a deal could not be reached.
Meanwhile, the virtual US Embassy in Iran issued an alert early on Friday urging American citizens to “leave Iran now”.
Israel's Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a parliamentary committee that “there is a build-up of conditions toward a critical mass that could bring about the downfall of the Iranian regime".
Despite both sides trading threats, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the two sides have agreed to limit discussions to Iran's nuclear programme, dropping the US demand for the talks to cover Iran's ballistic missiles.
The report said the US accepted Iran's conditions following interventions by other countries in the region, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Iran has warned that it is prepared for regional conflict if its conditions for the negotiation framework are rejected, the report added.
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