Daijiworld Media Network - Muscat
Muscat, Feb 5: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday confirmed that nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will be held this week in Oman, amid heightened tensions in the region.
Araghchi announced that the talks are scheduled to begin at 10 am local time in Muscat on Friday (06:00 GMT), putting to rest earlier reports suggesting the meeting was faltering due to disagreements over the format and venue.
“I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” the Iranian foreign minister wrote on social media.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had instructed Araghchi to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations”, signalling Tehran’s willingness to re-engage diplomatically.
The United States has confirmed its participation in the high-level talks, with a White House official quoted by the Associated Press saying the meeting would take place in Oman instead of Turkiye, as initially planned.
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, mediators from Qatar, Turkiye and Egypt have presented both sides with a framework outlining key principles for discussion. These reportedly include Iran committing to significant limits on uranium enrichment.
The proposed framework also covers restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme and curbs on the arming of its regional allies, sources said. One of the sources, a senior diplomat, requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the talks.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington hopes the discussions will go beyond Iran’s nuclear programme, addressing ballistic missiles, Tehran’s support for proxy groups across the region, and human rights concerns.
“The leadership of Iran at the clerical level does not reflect the people of Iran,” Rubio told reporters. “I know of no other country where there’s a bigger difference between the people who lead the country and the people who live there.”
The talks come as the region braces for possible escalation, after US President Donald Trump ordered American forces to amass in the Arabian Sea following Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters last month.
Iran and the US, which have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1980, have engaged in indirect talks in recent years to revive diplomacy. In June, officials from both countries met in Muscat to discuss a potential nuclear agreement, but the process stalled after Israel launched attacks on Iran. The US later briefly joined the conflict, bombing several Iranian nuclear sites.
Whether the renewed talks in Oman will lead to a breakthrough remains uncertain, but analysts say the meeting marks a significant diplomatic moment amid mounting regional and global pressure.