U.S., Iran indirect talks conclude a U.S. Navy commander present : NPR
Side-by-side photos show Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (left), photographed in Tehran, Iran, February 25, 2025, and Steve Witkoff (right), White House special envoy, photographed in Washington, March 19, 2025.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Oman on Friday, negotiations that appear to return to square one on how to approach discussions over Tehran’s nuclear program. But for the first time, America brought its top military commander in the Middle East to the table.
The presence of US Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Army Central Command, in uniform at the talks in Muscat, the Omani capital, was a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships were now off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.
US President Trump said the United States had had “very good” negotiations on Iran with more planned for early next week. But he kept up the pressure, warning that if the country failed to reach an agreement on its nuclear program, “the consequences would be very serious.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to coerce Iran into a deal on the program after sending the carrier to the region over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that have killed thousands and seen tens of thousands more detained in the Islamic Republic.
Gulf Arab countries fear an attack could trigger a regional war that would draw them in as well.
That threat is real: U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and Iran attempted to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz just days before Friday’s talks in that sultanate on the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
“We noted that nuclear negotiations and the resolution of major issues should take place in a calm atmosphere, without tensions and threats,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later told reporters.
“The precondition for any dialogue is to refrain from threats and pressure,” he added. “We have also expressed this point explicitly today and we hope that it will be respected so that it is possible to continue the negotiations.”
The United States, represented by U.S. special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, did not immediately comment on the negotiations. Araghchi said diplomats would return to their capitals, signaling the end of this round of negotiations.
On Friday evening, in a show of force, the US military posted photos on X of the Lincoln carrier group sailing in the Arabian Sea with planes flying overhead, with the message “Peace through strength!” The aircraft carrier and accompanying warships arrived in the Middle East in late January as Trump threatened to attack Iran by killing protesters.
Iran’s top diplomat offers positive note
Araghchi expressed cautious optimism during a live interview from Muscat on Iranian state television. He described Friday’s negotiations as having taken place in several rounds and said they were mainly focused on finding a framework for further negotiations.
“We will conduct consultations with our capitals regarding the next steps, and the results will be transmitted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman,” Araghchi said.
“The distrust that has developed poses a serious challenge to the negotiations,” Araghchi said. “We need to address this issue first and then move on to the next level of negotiations.”
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (center) visits a venue for talks between Iran and the United States in Muscat, Oman, on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry/PA
hide caption
toggle caption
Iranian Foreign Ministry/PA
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who oversaw several rounds of negotiations before Israel launched its 12-day war against Iran in June, called the talks “useful in clarifying Iranian and American thinking and identifying possible areas for progress.”
Oman nevertheless described the negotiations as a way to find “the necessary foundations for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations” rather than as a step towards concluding a nuclear deal or easing tensions.
The talks were initially scheduled to take place in Turkey in a format that would also include regional countries and include topics such as Tehran’s ballistic missile program – something Iran has apparently rejected in favor of focusing solely on its nuclear program.
Before the June War, Iran was enriching uranium to 60% purity, technically a step away from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, said Iran was the only country in the world to enrich itself to this level and not be armed with the bomb.
Iran has refused IAEA requests to inspect sites bombed in the June war, sparking concerns from non-proliferation experts. Even before that, Iran has restricted IAEA inspections since Trump’s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Omani palace hosts discussions
Friday’s talks featured in-person meetings at a palace near Muscat International Airport, used by Oman in previous negotiations between Iran and the United States in 2025. Associated Press journalists first saw Iranian officials at the palace and then returning to their hotel before the Americans came separately.
It remains unclear exactly what terms Iran is willing to negotiate during the negotiations. Tehran has affirmed that these negotiations will focus only on its nuclear program. However, satellite news channel Al Jazeera reported that Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari diplomats offered Iran to suspend enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country and commit “not to use ballistic missiles.”
Russia had said it would take the uranium, but Iran said ending the program or shipping the uranium was not a solution.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that negotiations must include all of these issues.
“I’m not sure you can come to an agreement with these guys, but we’ll try to find out,” he said.
US imposes new sanctions on Iranian energy sector
Shortly after Friday’s negotiations, the U.S. Treasury and State Department announced a new round of sanctions against Iran targeting its energy sector, imposing sanctions, including freezing assets in U.S. jurisdictions, on 14 tankers from a so-called “shadow fleet” that the United States says are being used to try to evade sanctions, as well as 15 trading companies and two business executives.
“Time and time again, the Iranian government has prioritized its destabilizing behavior over the safety and security of its own citizens, as demonstrated by the regime’s massacre of peaceful protesters,” the State Department said. “The United States will continue to take action against the network of shippers and traders involved in the transportation and acquisition of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals, which constitute the regime’s primary source of revenue.”
Over the past month, the United States has sanctioned Iran’s interior minister, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and several other leaders involved in Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests last month.
