Another round of Iran-US talks will begin on Friday, January 6, in Muscat, Oman, confirmed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday, amidst widespread speculations about possible US military strikes.
The indirect talks will mediated by Oman. The US delegation will be led by the White House special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. The Iranian delegation will be led by Araghchi.
This will be the first formal talks between the two countries over Iran’s nuclear program since talks were abruptly halted after the fifth round last year. Following which, in June, the US joined the Israeli attacks against Iran and bombed three of its nuclear sites.
The new round of talks are being held amidst a large deployment of US troops to the region and repeated threats issued by US President Donald Trump of a possible military strike.
Even on Wednesday, Trump repeated his threats, claiming Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei should be “very worried” about possible attacks from the US.
Iran has made it clear that any attack, however limited, would invite the full-scale response of its armed forces and that all US assets in the region, including its warships and Israel itself, would be targeted.
It was speculated in the media that the talks may include Iran’s missile program and its regional policies as well as its nuclear program, as has been demanded by the Trump administration for a long time.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted on the line on Wednesday, claiming talks with Iran must include Iran’s ballistic missile program and its regional policies as well.
However, Iran has outrightly denied any possibility of including its missile program or regional policies, claiming the talks on Friday would only be focused on its nuclear program and finding ways for lifting illegal sanctions imposed by the US.
So far the Trump administration has insisted Iran completely end its nuclear program. Iran has agreed to limitations but refuses to outrightly give up its nuclear enrichment program, claiming it is for peaceful purposes and within its rights under the international nuclear regime or the NPT.
No regional or European participation
It was previously speculated that talks would be held in Istanbul with the participation of several other regional countries. However, Iran has made it clear that the talks are largely going to be a bilateral affair with Oman playing the role of the mediator as it did last year.
On Thursday, Araghchi also denied any role for Germany or any other European player in the talks.
This came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his country’s desire to participate in the talks in a post on X. He claimed this may “increase pressure on Iran” and help bring its nuclear program to a “swift end”.
“Last September in New York, at Merz’s insistence, the E3 [the UK, France, and Germany] put an end to their nuclear negotiations by pursuing the return of the UN sanctions on Iran. Now, Merz is begging to be allowed back into the same negotiations,” Araghchi noted.
He claimed Iran does not trust the German government at the moment and cited German support for the Israeli genocide in Gaza and Merz welcoming Israeli attacks on Iran last June, which killed over a thousand Iranians.
Read more: Trump announces ceasefire after Iran’s retaliatory attack on largest US military base in West Asia
Araghchi also quoted Merz’s statement last month about the Iranian government’s imminent collapse during the protests, calling them examples of Merz’s “political naivety and distasteful character.”
The E3 was part of the original nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and five permanent members of the UN, plus Germany.
Though they had initially opposed Trump’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and attempted to get the deal back on track, they later joined the US and imposed their own sanctions on Iran, echoing American allegations of its violations of the provisions of the now defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The E3 played a crucial role in the imposition of snapback international sanctions on Iran in the UN last September over its alleged violations of the JCPOA, or the nuclear deal.
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