DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On Sunday, Iran and the United States engaged in a fourth series of negotiations concerning Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear agenda. The talks took place just before President Donald Trump planned a visit to the Middle East that same week.
The discussions lasted about three hours in Muscat, the capital city of Oman, known for its role in facilitating these negotiations. A U.S. official confirmed the duration of the talks and mentioned that the next steps for further negotiations are under consideration. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei echoed this, noting that although the conversations were challenging, they proved beneficial in moving forward.
While the talks were described as both indirect and direct by a U.S. official who asked to remain unnamed, Iran insisted on engaging only indirectly, likely due to internal pressures within the country. This diplomatic effort aims to curtail Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from some of the heavy economic sanctions imposed on the nation, a culmination of nearly fifty years of animosity.
President Trump has consistently threatened military action against Iran’s nuclear establishments if a satisfactory agreement isn’t achieved. In response, Iranian officials have hinted at the possibility of pursuing a nuclear weapon, given their uranium reserves enriched to near weapons-grade potency. Concurrently, Israel has indicated it might unilaterally target Iran’s nuclear sites should it perceive a threat, further complicating the already tense Middle Eastern atmosphere worsened by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
This round of talks came just ahead of Trump’s scheduled Middle East tour. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spearheaded the negotiations. Most of these dealings seemed indirect, with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi mediating between the parties.
Following the talks, al-Busaidi shared on the social platform X that the discussions were laden with useful and original suggestions, indicative of a mutual desire to reach a respectable agreement. Iran, maintaining a firm stance, views its uranium enrichment capacity as a non-negotiable component of its national policy.
Post-negotiation, Araghchi emphasized on Iranian state television that uranium enrichment, due to its historical significance involving the lives of nuclear scientists, remains a steadfast principle. However, he did indicate a willingness to discuss limiting some aspects of the program for the sake of building mutual trust.
Confusion enshrouded the issue after Witkoff initially implied Iran might maintain a 3.67% enrichment level during a television interview, only to later assert that no enrichment should occur henceforth. He stressed that the dismantlement of enrichment infrastructures at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan is a critical U.S. demand.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran had agreed to restrict its uranium enrichment to 3.67% and its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms, figures adequate for energy generation but far below the 90% weapons-grade threshold. Following the U.S.’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 by Trump, Iran discarded these restrictions and elevated its enrichment levels to 60%, a mere technical leap from the weapons-grade threshold. Meanwhile, ongoing tensions have sparked attacks at sea and ashore even before the Israel-Hamas conflict heightened.
As these talks proceed, Iran faces significant domestic challenges, exacerbated by international sanctions. Despite these struggles, the rial has seen an increase in value against the U.S. dollar, seemingly buoyed by the negotiations themselves.
Despite the diplomatic engagement, a comprehensive deal appears distant as both parties approach a looming deadline mentioned in a letter Trump sent to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on March 5th. This correspondence, reportedly delivered via an Emirati diplomat, imposed a theoretical deadline coinciding with Trump’s departure from the U.S. for his Middle East visit.
Internally, Iran also grapples with societal issues such as the mandatory hijab law amidst ongoing protests against potential fuel price hikes—issues that have sparked national unrest prior. Interestingly, just as the last round of discussions in Oman took place, an explosion devastated a southern Iranian port, causing numerous casualties. Iran has yet to clarify the cause of this incident, which rumors link to the transfer of missile fuel components to the Islamic Republic.