Omani officials are preparing to play courier for “indirect” talks between the United States and Iran regarding the Islamic Republic’s expanding nuclear program.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is preparing to meet with Iranian diplomats to address Tehran’s increasingly viable nuclear weapons program, but the discussions will not be face-to-face.
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi asserts that the talks, which will be held in Oman, must be carried out with mediators communicating American and Iranian positions between the envoys without the two sides meeting.
“Our main goal in the talks is naturally restoring rights of people as well as lifting sanctions, and if the other side has a real will, this is achievable, and it has no relation to the method, either direct or indirect,” said Araghchi.
He added, “For the time being, indirect is our preference. And we have no plan to alter it to direct.”
These indirect talks were sparked by President Donald Trump’s letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week seeking direct negotiations to restrict the nation’s nuclear weapons development.
On Monday, the president claimed that direct talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program would start on Saturday.
It’s part of a unified effort from the U.S. and Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-capable state — a situation both countries fear would fundamentally undermine their ability to contain the hostile nation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House on Monday, where the two leaders discussed a slew of bilateral issues, including the future of Iran.
Netanyahu made a video address on Tuesday in which he expressed optimism for a new Iranian nuclear deal being struck through diplomacy but clarified it would need to mirror the disarmament of Libya in 2003.
“We agree that Iran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons,” the prime minister said. “This can be achieved through an agreement — but only if it is a Libya-style agreement, one where the facilities are entered, dismantled, and destroyed under American supervision and execution — that’s good.”
It’s a scenario that Iran is unlikely to agree to, but Israel is prepared to take military action if the demands are not met.
“In that case, the option is military,” Netanyahu said. “Everyone understands that. We discussed this at length.”
TRUMP SAYS ‘DIRECT’ TALKS WITH IRAN TO BEGIN THIS WEEKEND
The Russian parliament ratified a strategic partnership with Iran on Tuesday, completing the agreement first signed by President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian in January.
The partnership commits both countries to sharing intelligence, withholding aid from countries at war with either signer, and cooperating on mutual security threats.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko clarified to the State Duma that this agreement is not a mutual defense agreement and “does not mean the establishment of a military alliance with Iran or mutual military assistance.”
