US officials confirm talks with Iran will be held in Oman
US officials have announced that talks with Iran have been rescheduled following initiatives by Arab leaders at the White House who were concerned about a potential military operation against Iran. US officials confirmed that the meetings will take place in Oman.
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According to reports in the US press citing two unnamed US officials, the US-Iran nuclear talks, which were planned for Friday, have been rescheduled.
According to the report, some leaders from the Middle East lobbied the Trump administration urgently after news broke that talks with Iran had collapsed due to disagreements over location and format, requesting that the US not follow through on its threat to withdraw from negotiations with Iran.
Reports that the US had rejected Iran's requests for changes to the location and format of the negotiations caused concerns in the Middle East that US President Trump would turn to the option of military intervention.
According to the report, Arab leaders from at least nine countries across the Middle East reached out to the White House, making a high-level request for the US not to cancel the talks with Iran. The report stated that following these initiatives, the green light was given for the talks to be held in Muscat, the capital of Oman, as insisted upon by Iran.
In a statement attributed to a US official, it was noted, "They wanted us not to cancel the meeting plan and to hear the Iranians' views. We told the Arabs that if they insist, we will hold this meeting. However, we are very skeptical."
"WE THOUGHT THEY HAD ACCEPTED A SPECIFIC FORMAT"
According to the report, another US official explained that the Trump administration accepted the meeting with Iran within the framework of respecting US allies in the region and the principle of continuing to prefer the path of diplomacy. The US and Iran had initially agreed to meet in Istanbul on Friday. However, Iran's requests for changes to the location and format of the meeting later emerged, and reports that the US had rejected this request were reflected in the press. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated in his remarks today that contradictory statements were coming from Iran, saying, "We thought the Iranians had accepted a specific format. This seems to have changed for whatever reason."
Subsequently, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made a statement via his social media account, announcing that an agreement had been reached regarding the talks with the US, stating, "Nuclear negotiations with the US will be held in Muscat on Friday at approximately 10:00 AM. I thank our Omani brothers for providing all the necessary arrangements."
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Qatar tomorrow for talks on Iran, and then proceed to Oman to meet with Iranian officials.