Uncertainty surrounding crucial talks between Iran and the United States of America came to an end on Wednesday after officials from both sides indicated that negotiations were expected to proceed later this week.

 

 

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said late on Wednesday that discussions with US would take place in Muscat, Oman, on Friday morning. “Nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held in Muscat on about 10 am Friday. I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” he said in a post on X.

 

 

A US official also confirmed that the talks remained on schedule. The confirmation came after reports suggested that negotiations had been called off following disagreements over the format and location of the meeting.

 

 

Earlier, Axios reported that the talks had stalled after the United States declined Iran’s request to alter both the venue and format  of the discussions. US officials had considered the proposal before rejecting it. “We told them it is this or nothing, and they said, ‘Ok, then nothing,’” a senior US official was quoted as saying.

 

 

The news outlet later said that the talks were revived after diplomatic outreach from several  states. Citing two US officials, Axios reported that at least nine countries contacted the White House at senior levels on Wednesday, urging the administration not to abandon the meeting.

 

 

Officials familiar with the matter said regional actors had pressed for the talks to continue that had earlier been expected to participate in discussions planned for Turkiye but were later excluded after the venue was shifted to Oman. Countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye were among those that maintained contact with US, citing the potential regional consequences of a conflict.

 

 

Iranian officials speaking to a private media outlet from Tehran said that regional states were not expected to participate directly at this stage. However, Qatar’s prime minister was seen as a possible participant alongside Omani intermediaries.

 

 

Reports of a breakdown in talks followed remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said any engagement with Tehran would need to cover Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its regional role and domestic governance, in addition to nuclear issues. Iranian officials interpreted the comments as a sign that  US was moving away from a limited negotiating framework.

 

 

A senior Iranian official said the scope of the talks would be restricted to Iran’s nuclear programme, adding that the missile issue was “off the table”.

 

 

The diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran last month and ordered additional US naval deployments to the Gulf. Concerns have grown across the region following Israeli and US strikes on Iran last summer.

 

 

Trump said on Wednesday that Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be “very worried” as the United States increased its military presence. “I would say he should be very worried, yeah, he should be”.

 

 

Trump also said Iran had considered establishing a new nuclear site following US strikes. “They were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country,” he said. “We found out about it, I said, you do that, we’re going to do very bad things to you.”