Iran And US Agree To Hold Nuclear Talks Friday In Oman As Trump Delivers Blunt Warning To Khamenei

 

Dubai : Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will take place Friday in Oman, the Iranian foreign minister said, as tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The announcement Wednesday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, sent a blunt warning to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ahead of the talks.

"I would say he should be very worried," Trump said of Khamenei in an interview with NBC News.

Turkey had been working behind the scenes to host talks in Istanbul with regional countries taking part and discussions focused on issues like Iran's ballistic missile program and other concerns.

 

Early Wednesday, a regional official said Iran was seeking a "different" type of meeting focused exclusively on the issue of Iran's nuclear program, with participation limited to Iran and the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

A similar series of talks had been hosted last year by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that long as served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West. Those talks ultimately broke down in June as Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

 

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the talks publicly, confirmed the talks would happen in Oman. The official said several Arab and Muslim leaders urged the Trump administration on Wednesday not to walk away from talks even as Iranian officials pressed to narrow their scope.

 

The official added that the White House remains "very skeptical" that the talks will be successful but has agreed to go along with the change in plans out of respect for allies in the region.

Alan Eyre, a former U.S. diplomat once involved in past nuclear negotiations with Tehran, similarly offered a skeptical opinion of talks succeeding.

 

"Opting for indirect talks is the diplomatic equivalent of a surgeon taking a hit of ether and then putting on gloves before a difficult surgery," Eyre wrote on X.

 

Tensions between the countries spiked after Trump suggested the U.S. might use force against Iran in response to the bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month that killed thousands of people or if Iran conducted mass executions of detained demonstrators. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Wednesday that over 50,000 people also had been arrested over the protests.

Trump also has been pushing Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear program.