US-Iran nuclear talks set for Oman on Friday

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - DUBAI — The United States and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remained at odds over Washington's insistence that negotiations include Tehran's missile arsenal and Iran's vow to discuss only its nuclear program.

The delicate diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions as the US builds up forces in the Middle East and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced late Wednesday that nuclear talks between his country and the United States were scheduled to take place at 10 am in Muscat on Friday (06:00 GMT), after reports earlier suggested the anticipated meeting was faltering amid disagreements over format and location.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that he has instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations”.

Washington confirmed that the US will take part in high-level talks with Iran in Oman instead of Turkey as originally planned, according to a White House official quoted by The Associated Press news agency.

Mediators from Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have presented Iran and the US with a framework of key principles to be discussed in the talks, including a commitment by Iran to significantly limit its uranium enrichment, two sources familiar with the negotiations told Al Jazeera news channel.

Key points in the proposed framework also include restrictions on the use of ballistic missiles and the arming of Iran’s allies in the region, according to the sources.

But there was no indication they had found common ground on the agenda.

Iran has pushed to restrict the negotiations to discussing its long-running nuclear dispute with Western countries.

But US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented a different view on Wednesday. "If the Iranians want to meet, we're ready," Rubio told reporters. But he added that talks would have to include the range of Iran's ballistic missiles, its support for armed proxy groups around the Middle East and its treatment of its own people, besides nuclear issues.

A senior Iranian official said, however, that Iran's missile program was "off the table." A second senior Iranian official said Tehran would welcome negotiations over the nuclear dispute but that US insistence on dealing with non-nuclear issues could jeopardize the talks.

While the talks were originally slated for Turkey, Iran wanted the meeting to take place in Oman as a continuation of previous talks held in the Gulf Arab country that had focused strictly on Tehran's nuclear program, a regional official said.

A Gulf official said the talks could be mediated by several countries, though Iran has indicated that it wants a two-way format limited to Washington and Tehran.

The diplomatic efforts follow Trump's threats of military action against Iran during its bloody crackdown on protesters last month and the deployment of more naval power to the Gulf.

An Iranian official said there should not be preconditions for talks and that Iran was ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, which it says is for peaceful, not military purposes. — Agencies

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