United States and Iran have begun talks in Oman, amid weeks of intensifying regional tensions and widespread apprehension of a potential armed conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is leading his country’s delegation in Muscat. According to the US officials, Steve Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy for the Middle East, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and unofficial aide, are representing US in the talks.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated the objective of the meeting is to secure “a fair, mutually satisfactory, and honourable agreement regarding the nuclear issue.”
The precise agenda for the talks remains undefined. Trump administration has consistently advocated for expanding the discussions to include matters beyond Iran’s nuclear programme, a proposition Tehran has explicitly opposed.
On 3 February, a US fighter jet downed an Iranian drone that came close to an American aircraft carrier in the Middle East, US officials said, as fresh maritime tensions cast a shadow over plans to resume nuclear talks.
The downing of the drone was the second clash between the foes in Middle Eastern waters on the same day, after Iranian forces attempted to detain a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
