{"id":452542,"date":"2026-02-06T13:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/452542\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:18:09","slug":"us-iran-indirect-talks-in-oman-held-amid-war-fears-move-to-second-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/452542\/","title":{"rendered":"US-Iran indirect talks in Oman, held amid war fears, move to second round"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran and the United States held high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, as a dispute over the agenda, most notably differences over Iran\u2019s formidable missile program, suggested progress would be hard-won, with the threat of another Middle East war looming.<\/p>\n

The indirect talks in the Omani capital of Muscat were originally due to begin at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. Israel time), but Iran\u2019s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that they were pushed back by about an hour.<\/p>\n

The first round of talks appeared to last about an hour and a half, after which a motorcade believed to be carrying American officials left the palace on Muscat\u2019s outskirts where the talks took place. An Iranian convoy had come and gone from the location earlier.<\/p>\n

A second round got underway in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

Oman\u2019s Foreign Ministry later confirmed on X that it had mediated talks between Iran and the US on Iran\u2019s nuclear program. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met separately with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, then with US Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is US President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law, the Omani Foreign Ministry said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe consultations focused on preparing the appropriate circumstances for resuming the diplomatic and technical negotiations by ensuring the importance of these negotiations, in light of the parties\u2019 determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability,\u201d the Omani announcement said.<\/p>\n

Iranian media reported that Araghchi also met with Busaidi ahead of the negotiations.<\/p>\n

While both Iran and the US have signaled readiness to revive diplomacy, Washington wants the talks to cover Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, support for proxy terror groups around the region and \u201ctreatment of their own people,\u201d US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. The talks follow a bloody Iranian crackdown on mass anti-regime protests last month.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t(L-R) US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House adviser Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law, attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Hallandale Beach, Florida, November 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Terry Renna)<\/p>\n

Iran has said it wanted Araghchi and Witkoff to discuss only the nuclear issue in Muscat.<\/p>\n

In a statement ahead of the talks on Friday, Araghchi appeared to refer to the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, when the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets toward the end of the fighting. The talks \u2014 finally confirmed by both sides late Wednesday after uncertainty over the location, timing and format \u2014 were the first such encounter between the two foes since the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year. We engage in good faith and stand firm on our rights,\u201d Araghchi said on X. \u201cCommitments need to be honored. Equal standing, mutual respect and mutual interest are not rhetoric \u2014 they are a must and the pillars of a durable agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel targeted Iran\u2019s nuclear program, missile production and military leadership during the war. Tehran has since said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.<\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s leadership remains deeply concerned that US President Donald Trump may carry out his threats to strike Iran amid a buildup of forces by the US Navy near the country. The buildup followed Iran\u2019s crackdown on protests, in which rights groups say they have verified thousands of deaths, adding that the true toll may be far higher.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast, February 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP\/Evan Vucci)<\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday told reporters that Trump was looking to determine whether a deal can be struck, but also issued a warning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Trump has warned that \u201cbad things\u201d could happen if a deal cannot be reached, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

US officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio believe Iran\u2019s theocracy is now at its weakest point since its 1979 Islamic Revolution after the protests. With the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships in the region along with more fighter jets, the US now likely has the military firepower to launch an attack if it wanted.<\/p>\n

But whether attacks could be enough to force Iran to change its ways \u2014 or potentially topple its government \u2014 remains far from a sure thing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war, dragging them in as well. That threat is real \u2014 already, US forces shot down an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and Iran attempted to stop a US-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

Iran has warned it would respond harshly to any military strike, striking Israel as well as US targets, and has cautioned neighboring countries hosting US bases that they could be in the firing line if they were involved in an attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to see them conceding enough in talks tomorrow for the US credibly to be able to claim that it\u2019s made a breakthrough. And this is where I think military conflict is more likely than not,\u201d Edmund Fitton-Brown, senior fellow at Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, in Tehran, Iran, on January 18, 2026. (ATTA KENARE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Negotiators in Oman faced the challenge of having to navigate Iran\u2019s red line on discussing its missile program to reach a deal and avert future military action.<\/p>\n

Tehran, which launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israeli cities during the June war, killing 32 people and wounding thousands, has flatly ruled out talks on its \u201cdefense capabilities, including missiles and their range.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hours before the talks, Iran\u2019s state TV said that \u201cone of the country\u2019s most advanced long-range ballistic missiles, the Khorramshahr 4,\u201d had been deployed at one of the Revolutionary Guards\u2019 vast underground missile complexes.<\/p>\n

However, Tehran was willing to show \u201cflexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution,\u201d Iranian officials told Reuters last week. Iran also insists that its right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable.<\/p>\n

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Prior to the June war, Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.<\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s influence throughout the region has been severely weakened by Israel\u2019s attacks on its regional terror proxies, known as the \u201cAxis of Resistance,\u201d from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, as well as by the ousting of Iran\u2019s close ally, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, in late 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran and the United States held high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-452542","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}