Key points
- Trump has threatened military action in case talks fail to produce a new deal
- Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018
- Iran is ready to give diplomacy a “genuine chance”: Iranian Foreign Ministry spox
ISLAMABAD: The United States and Iran begin high-stakes talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme on Saturday, with President Donald Trump threatening military action should they fail to produce a new deal.
According to AFP, they will be the highest-level discussions between the foes since an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme crumbled with Trump pulling out in 2018 during his first term in office.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are set to lead the discussions behind closed doors in Muscat, the capital of Iran’s neighbour Oman.
“I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, hours before the talks were due to begin.
“Real and fair agreement”
Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani said Tehran was “seeking a real and fair agreement”, adding that “important and implementable proposals are ready”.
#Iran’s FM heads to #Oman with full authority for #indirect talks with the #US. Tehran seeks a real, just deal—away from media show and rhetoric. Key proposals are ready. If Washington shows determination for a deal, the path to agreement will be clear.
— علی شمخانی (@alishamkhani_ir) April 11, 2025
If Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be “smooth”, he said on social media platform X.
The talks format has not been confirmed, with the United States calling them direct talks but Iran insisting on an intermediary.
The delegations will start indirect negotiations after a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
The talks are expected to start in the afternoon with Busaidi acting as intermediary, Tasnim added.
It is unclear whether the talks might extend beyond Saturday.
They were announced just days ago by Trump during a White House press appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to AFP.
Threats of military action
The contact between the two sides, which have not had diplomatic relations for decades, follows repeated threats of military action by both the United States and Israel.
“If it requires military, we’re going to have military,” Trump said this week, when asked what would happen if the talks fail to produce a deal.
Responding to Trump’s threat, Iran said it could expel United Nations nuclear inspectors, a move that Washington warned would be an “escalation”.
Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal that “our position today” starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear programme — a view of hardliners around Trump that few expect Iran would ever accept.
“That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries,” Witkoff told the newspaper.
“Where our red line will be, there can’t be weaponisation of your nuclear capability,” Witkoff added, according to AFP.
2015 nuclear deal
Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018.
Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group think-tank said agreeing the scope of the talks would be “one of the first and most consequential issues”.
“Iran does not want an expanded agenda in the early stages. But no deal will be sustainable unless it becomes more comprehensive,” he said.
Iran is “likely to engage on steps to roll back its nuclear programme, but not dismantle it entirely” in exchange for sanctions relief, Vaez added, according to AFP.
“A good chance”
According to Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the deputy foreign minister for political affairs of Iran says there is “a good chance” of reaching an agreement if the United States ceases making excessive demands and issuing threats.
“If the American side refrains from bringing up unrelated issues and demands, and abandons threats and intimidation, there is a good chance of reaching an agreement,” Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi said on Friday, a day before diplomats from Iran and the US are scheduled to hold indirect talks in Muscat on Iran’s nuclear programme.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran believes in dialogue and interaction based on mutual respect, and in our view any kind of bullying and coercion is rejected,” he added.
The deputy minister said that Iran has held discussions with China, Russia, and the three European countries of France, Britain, and Germany over the past few months.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said earlier in the day that Iran was ready to give diplomacy a “genuine chance.”
He said Iran will assess the US’s intent and resolve during the upcoming talks, which will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff, with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi as intermediary.
