MUSCAT, Oman (AP) \u2014 Iran\u2019s top diplomat said that indirect talks with the United States held in Oman on Friday were \u201ca very good start\u201d but negotiators now must speak with their leaders.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the comment in a live interview from Muscat, Oman, on Iranian state television. Araghchi described the talks as taking place over multiple rounds and that they were focused primarily on finding a framework for further negotiations.<\/p>\n
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP\u2019s earlier story follows below.<\/p>\n
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) \u2014 Oman mediated indirect talks Friday between Iran and the United States over the Islamic Republic\u2019s nuclear program, seeking to de-escalate tensions between the nations after Washington bombed Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran launched a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.<\/p>\n
Oman issued a public statement acknowledging the talks after Associated Press journalists watched Iranian and American officials separately visit a palace on the outskirts of Muscat to speak to the sultanate\u2019s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t immediately clear if that was the end of the talks for the day. However, the palace stood empty after the convoys left.<\/p>\n
The two countries returned Friday to Oman<\/a>, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, months after rounds of meetings turned to ash following Israel\u2019s launch of a 12-day war against Iran<\/a> back in June. The U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites<\/a> during that war, likely destroying many of the centrifuges that spun uranium to near weapons-grade purity. Israel\u2019s attacks devastated Iran\u2019s air defenses and targeted its ballistic missile arsenal<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n U.S. officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio believe Iran\u2019s theocracy is now at its weakest point since its 1979 Islamic Revolution after nationwide protests last month represented the greatest challenge to 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u2019s rule<\/a>. Khamenei\u2019s forces responded with a crackdown that killed thousands and reportedly saw tens of thousands arrested \u2014 and spurred new military threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to target the country.<\/p>\n With the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships in the region, along with more fighter jets, the U.S. now likely has the military firepower to launch an attack if it wanted. 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, U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone near the Lincoln<\/a> and Iran attempted to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Omani palace hosts talks<\/p>\n The palace, near Muscat\u2019s international airport, had been used by Oman in earlier talks between Iran and the U.S. in 2025. AP journalists saw Iranian officials at the palace and later returning to their hotel.<\/p>\n Only after the Iranian vehicles left did another convoy including an SUV flying the American flag enter the palace grounds, where it stayed for about an hour and a half.<\/p>\n After that, Oman\u2019s Foreign Ministry published a statement saying al-Busaidi met separately with Araghchi, then with U.S. Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump\u2019s son-in-law. Footage later released by the state-run Oman News Agency showed that U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military\u2019s Central Command, also attended the meeting \u2014 something unusual that hasn\u2019t happened in previous rounds.<\/p>\n \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 Neither the Americans nor the Iranians offered any readout of the meetings.<\/p>\n Few details on talks ahead of meeting<\/p>\n Details remained sparse even before the talks began. Officials at Oman\u2019s borders on Thursday showed particular concern over anyone carrying cameras into the sultanate before the negotiations.<\/p>\n On the Iranian side, Araghchi wrote on X that \u201cIran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCommitments need to be honored,\u201d he wrote. \u201cEqual standing, mutual respect and mutual interest are not rhetoric \u2014 they are a must and the pillars of a durable agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n A top adviser to Khamenei also appeared to offer the theocracy\u2019s support to the 63-year-old career diplomat.<\/p>\n Araghchi \u201cis a skilled, strategic and trustworthy negotiator at the highest levels of decision-making and military intelligence,\u201d Ali Shamkhani wrote on X. \u201cSoldiers of the nation in the armed forces & generals of diplomacy, acting under the order of the Leader, will safeguard the nation\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n On the U.S. side, the talks led by Witkoff<\/a>, a 68-year-old billionaire New York real estate mogul and longtime friend to Trump. Traveling with Witkoff on his Mideast trip so far is Jared Kushner, Trump\u2019s son-in-law who in recent weeks has shared proposals for the Gaza Strip and took part in trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi earlier on the trip.<\/p>\n The two men had traveled from Abu Dhabi to Qatar on Thursday night for meetings there, the Qatari-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera reported. Qatar, which shares an offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf with Iran, also hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in the June war.<\/p>\n Nuclear program on the table at the least<\/p>\n It remains unclear just what terms Iran will be willing to negotiate at the talks. Tehran has maintained that these talks only will be on its nuclear program. However, Al Jazeera reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and pledge \u201cnot initiate the use of ballistic missiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia had signaled it would take the uranium, but Shamkhani in an interview earlier this week had said ending the program or shipping out the uranium were nonstarters.<\/p>\n Rubio, America\u2019s top diplomat, said Wednesday that the talks needed to include all those issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we\u2019re going to try to find out,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York<\/a> and Outrider Foundation<\/a>. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. 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