Iran and the United States moved to high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday amid mounting military and diplomatic pressure, with President Donald Trump warning of unspecified “bad things” if a deal is not reached even as Washington signaled an openness to diplomacy.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have risen since nationwide protests against the current Islamic regime. (Reuters/AP)The talks come against a backdrop of a US naval build-up near Iran, described by Trump as a massive “armada”, and deep disagreements over the scope of talks, raising doubts about whether talks can avoid further escalation in an already volatile Middle East.
Ahead of the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi stressed that any deal must be based on equality and respect.
“Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year. We engage in good faith and stand firm on our rights. Commitments must be honored. Equal positions, mutual respect and mutual interests are not rhetoric—they are essential and pillars of a sustainable deal,” X wrote in a post.
Hours before the talks, Iranian state TV said the long-range ballistic missile “Khorramshahr 4” had been deployed at an underground Revolutionary Guards missile complex, Reuters reported.
Here are the top 10 developments in Iran-US tensionsIran and the United States are set to meet in Muscat to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program, with both sides signaling a readiness to revive diplomacy despite sharply differing expectations of what the talks should cover.Washington has signaled that it wants talks to go beyond Iran’s nuclear program to include ballistic missiles, regional armed groups and human rights, as reported by Reuters, potentially complicating already slim prospects for progress in the talks.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington wanted to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its support for armed groups across the region and its “treatment of its own people”.Iran rejected a broad agenda, saying Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Wittkoff should focus specifically on the nuclear issue during the Oman talks, Reuters reported.Tehran said it would attend the talks “with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue”. “We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, reality and seriousness,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai said on Thursday.Iranian leaders worry that Trump could still order military action, as the U.S. Navy builds forces near Iran, a deployment the president has referred to as a massive “armada.” The navy followed a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, further raising tensions between Washington and Tehran.White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said Trump was evaluating whether a deal was possible but insisted military options remained firmly on the table.”While these negotiations are underway, I would remind the Iranian government that the president has many options other than diplomacy as commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” Levitt said.Trump warned that “bad things” would likely happen if a deal could not be reached, intensifying pressure amid a standoff marked by mutual threats of airstrikes. Iran has said it will respond strongly to any attack and has warned neighboring countries that host US bases that they could be targeted if involved in an attack.Negotiators face Iran’s red line in missile talks, with Tehran rejecting talks on its “defense capabilities including missiles and their range”. At the same time that Iran has deployed ballistic missiles, Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran could show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including “handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution,” while insisting that it has no right to enrich uranium.(with input from Reuters)
