Iran and the US meet - threats from both sides

TT

Updated 11.58 | Published 09.06

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shakes hands with Oman's Badr al-Busaidi, who leads the mediation delegation during Friday's talks. Photo: Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Via /AP/TT

A lot is at stake when the US and Iran now meet for talks - amid growing fears of military clashes between the two arch-enemies.

Shortly before Friday's negotiations, there were displays of power from both sides.

Indirect talks have begun in Oman, Al Jazeera and Iranian state media reported at 9 o'clock, Swedish time.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi is said to have met with both delegations this morning, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

“The consultations focused on creating appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations,” reads a statement from Oman’s Foreign Ministry on X.

There is confusion about how the day is progressing, but Iranian state media is reporting that the talks will continue in the afternoon. It is unclear whether Araghchi, Witkoff and Kushner will meet face to face, or whether the talks will take place entirely indirectly with the help of Omani mediators.

Test-fired missile

In the morning, Araghchi made a statement: Iran will defend itself against “any excessive demands or adventurism.” At the same time, state-run Iranian media published a video that is said to show Iran’s Revolutionary Guard test-firing the country’s most advanced long-range missile.

The US, for its part, signaled its readiness to take military action by urging American citizens to leave Iran.

Ahead of the talks, sources told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the parties had agreed to discuss only Iran's nuclear program. Previously, the US has also raised demands to limit Iran's missile development and curtail support for its terrorist proxies in the Middle East, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Thousands were killed

Optimism is low among Iranians, reports Qatar-based Al Jazeera.

- Whatever happens in these talks will not benefit the Iranian people because they have no representation and their interests are never prioritized, says exiled Iranian film director Jafar Panahi, highlighting that thousands were killed by the Islamic Republic during the January wave of protests in Iran.

Oman also acted as a mediator between Iran and the US during last year's nuclear talks. Those negotiations were abruptly interrupted in June, after the US joined Israel's side in the twelve-day war against Iran.