News Desk

OMAN: Iran and the United States commenced high-stakes negotiations in Oman on Friday over Tehran’s nuclear programme, but a dispute over the agenda suggests progress will be hard won amid the threat of a regional Middle East war.

While both sides have signaled readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington wants the talks to cover Iran’s nuclear programme, its ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and its “treatment of their own people”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

Iran has said it wants Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss only nuclear issues in Muscat.

Iran’s foreign minister called on Friday for “mutual respect” ahead of talks with the United States on the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme and other issues.

“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,” Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.

“Commitments need to be honored. Equal standing, mutual respect and mutual interest are not rhetoric – they are a must and the pillars of a durable agreement. “

Tehran said it will engage in 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, realism and seriousness,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.

Tehran’s leadership remains deeply concerned that US President Donald Trump may still carry out his threats to strike Iran amid a buildup by the US Navy near Iran.

The US naval buildup, which Trump has called a massive “armada”, has followed a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.

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.

“While 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,” she added.