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Oman Mediates US-Iran Nuclear Talks 02/06 06:00
Oman mediated indirect talks Friday between Iran and the United States over
the Islamic Republic's 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.
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) -- Oman mediated indirect talks Friday between Iran and
the United States over the Islamic Republic's 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.
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's foreign minister,
Badr al-Busaidi.
It wasn't immediately clear if that was the end of the talks for the day.
However, the palace stood empty after the convoys left.
The two countries returned Friday to Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge
of the Arabian Peninsula, months after rounds of meetings turned to ash
following Israel's launch of a 12-day war against Iran back in June. The U.S.
bombed Iranian nuclear sites during that war, likely destroying many of the
centrifuges that spun uranium to near weapons-grade purity. Israel's attacks
devastated Iran's air defenses and targeted its ballistic missile arsenal as
well.
U.S. officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio believe Iran's 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's rule. Khamenei's forces responded with a
crackdown that killed thousands and reportedly saw tens of thousands arrested
-- and spurred new military threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to target
the country.
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 -- or potentially topple its government --
remains far from a sure thing.
Meanwhile, Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war
dragging them in as well. That threat is real -- already, U.S. forces shot down
an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and Iran attempted to stop a U.S.-flagged
ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
Omani palace hosts talks
The palace, near Muscat's 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.
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.
After that, Oman's 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's 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's Central Command, also attended the
meeting -- something unusual that hasn't happened in previous rounds.
"The 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' determination to ensure their
success in achieving sustainable security and stability," the Omani
announcement said.
Neither the Americans nor the Iranians offered any readout of the meetings.
Few details on talks ahead of meeting
Details remained sparse even before the talks began. Officials at Oman's
borders on Thursday showed particular concern over anyone carrying cameras into
the sultanate before the negotiations.
On the Iranian side, Araghchi wrote on X that "Iran enters diplomacy with
open eyes and a steady memory of the past year."
"Commitments need to be honored," he wrote. "Equal standing, mutual respect
and mutual interest are not rhetoric -- they are a must and the pillars of a
durable agreement."
A top adviser to Khamenei also appeared to offer the theocracy's support to
the 63-year-old career diplomat.
Araghchi "is a skilled, strategic and trustworthy negotiator at the highest
levels of decision-making and military intelligence," Ali Shamkhani wrote on X.
"Soldiers of the nation in the armed forces & generals of diplomacy, acting
under the order of the Leader, will safeguard the nation's interests."
On the U.S. side, the talks led by Witkoff, 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's 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.
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.
Nuclear program on the table at the least
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 "not
initiate the use of ballistic missiles."
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.
Rubio, America's top diplomat, said Wednesday that the talks needed to
include all those issues.
"I'm not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we're going to try
to find out," he said. ___
The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the
Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely
responsible for all content.
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