U.S., Iran Officials Set to Meet in Muscat

Agencies

U.S. & Iranian flags.

Arriving in Oman on Saturday, 12 April 2025, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began laying the groundwork for high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the United States that are taking place under fear of military action.

Iranian media said Iranian and U.S. delegations had arrived in the Omani capital Muscat. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is leading Iran's delegation while the talks on the U.S. side will be handled by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

"Our intention is to reach a fair and honourable agreement from an equal position," Araghchi said in a video posted by Iranian state TV.

The two sides are already at odds over the format of the talks, with the US calling them "direct" while the Iranians insist on using an intermediary.

After arriving in Muscat, Araghchi set out Iran's position on the "indirect" talks with Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, an Iranian statement said.

"Araghchi provided the Omani foreign minister with Iran's basis and positions on the talks for transmission to the other side," Iran's foreign ministry said.

"There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (U.S.) enters the talks with an equal stance," Araqchi told Iranian TV.

U.S. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads the U.S, team in Oman, told The Wall Street Journal that "our position today" starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear programme."

"That doesn't mean, by the way, that at the margin we're not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries," Witkoff told the newspaper.

"Where our red line will be, there can't be weaponisation of your nuclear capability," he added.

Saturday's contact between the two sides, which have not had diplomatic relations for decades, follows repeated threats of military action by both the United States and Israel.

"If it requires military, we're going to have military," U.S. President Trump said last Wednesday when asked what would happen if the talks fail to produce a deal.

Responding to Trump's threat, Tehran said it could expel United Nations nuclear inspectors, a move that Washington warned would be an "escalation".



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