Iran and the United States have held high stakes indirect talks in Oman aimed at easing their nuclear dispute and preventing a new war in the Middle East.
The negotiations in Muscat were arranged through Omani mediation and focused on Iran’s nuclear programme, but deep disagreements over missiles, regional militias and human rights threatened to derail progress. Iran wants the talks to be limited strictly to nuclear issues, while Washington insists its concerns about ballistic missiles, Tehran’s support for armed groups and its treatment of protesters must also be addressed.
Iranian officials say their ballistic missile programme is non negotiable and part of the country’s defence, while demanding recognition of their right to enrich uranium and the lifting of US sanctions reimposed after Donald Trump quit the 2015 nuclear deal. For the US, allowing uranium enrichment inside Iran remains a red line.
Tehran has signalled it could show flexibility by handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium and accepting zero enrichment under a special consortium arrangement, according to Iranian officials.
The talks come against the backdrop of a major US naval buildup in the region, which Trump has described as a massive armada, and fears in Tehran that the US president could still order air strikes on Iran. In June, US forces joined the final stages of a 12 day Israeli bombing campaign that hit Iranian nuclear targets, after which Tehran said it had halted enrichment.
Tensions have also been fuelled by a bloody crackdown on recent nationwide protests in Iran, drawing sharp criticism from Western governments. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that Trump has many options beyond diplomacy as commander in chief of the US military, while Iran has vowed a harsh response to any attack and cautioned Gulf states hosting US bases that they could be targeted if involved.
Iran’s clerical leaders are worried that a breakdown in talks could trigger direct confrontation with Washington, while world powers and regional countries fear any conflict would quickly spread across the oil rich Gulf. The Kremlin, an ally of Iran, said it hopes the negotiations will succeed and urged all sides to show restraint.
State media in Tehran underscored Iran’s red lines by announcing the deployment of one of its most advanced long range ballistic missiles, the Khorramshahr 4, in an underground missile base hours before the Muscat talks. Israel has compared Iran’s nuclear work and its estimated 20,000 ballistic missiles to two dangerous “lumps of cancer,” accusing Tehran of seeking the capability to build atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies.
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