Oman says U.S.-Iran nuclear talks make ‘significant progress’ as military buildup intensifies
Technical talks planned in Vienna next week; move could avert threatened U.S. strikes, but gaps remain on missiles and sanctions
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Oman said the United States and Iran made significant progress in talks aimed at resolving a longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new U.S. strikes, as Washington expands its military footprint across the Middle East.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X that the two sides would resume negotiations soon after consultations in their capitals, with technical-level discussions scheduled in Vienna next week. His comments came after a day of talks in Switzerland.
Any substantial step toward an agreement between Washington and Tehran could reduce the near-term risk of a U.S. attack threatened by President Donald Trump, a move that regional governments and energy markets fear could ignite a wider war.
“We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran,” Albusaidi said. Abbas Araqchi, a senior Iranian negotiator, called the discussions among the most serious with the U.S. to date, telling Iranian state television that the sides “reached agreement on some issues,” while differences persist on others. He said a new round would convene “in less than a week,” with Tehran pressing for sanctions relief. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. team.
The pace of diplomacy comes amid a heightened military posture. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, departed near Crete and is bound for waters off northern Israel, where it is expected to arrive Friday. A U.S. official said roughly a dozen F-22 fighter jets have also been sent to Israel — the first potential wartime deployment of American combat aircraft to the country. The administration has not formally announced the deployments, and the Pentagon declined to comment.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters earlier that a framework could be reached if Washington separates “nuclear and non-nuclear issues.” The Trump administration has insisted that Iran’s missile program and its support for armed groups in the region be part of the talks. Washington, which believes Tehran seeks the capability to build a nuclear weapon, wants Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for reactors or material for a warhead.
Iran has long denied seeking a bomb and has signaled flexibility at the table. Reuters reported Sunday that Tehran is offering undefined concessions in exchange for sanctions relief and recognition of its right to enrich uranium. But the sides remain divided over the scope and sequencing of sanctions relief, according to a senior Iranian official.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program was a “big problem” that would have to be addressed eventually, arguing the missiles were “designed solely to strike America” and threaten regional stability. “If you can’t even make progress on the nuclear program, it’s going to be hard to make progress on the ballistic missiles as well,” Rubio told reporters in Saint Kitts.
Trump said on Feb. 19 that Iran must make a deal within 10 to 15 days, warning that “really bad things” would otherwise happen. He outlined his case for possible military action in his State of the Union speech, while saying he preferred a diplomatic solution and would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Iranian officials have pointed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s religious decree banning weapons of mass destruction. President Masoud Pezeshkian said the fatwa “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons.”
The diplomatic stakes are underscored by regional jitters: several governments have withdrawn dependents of diplomatic staff and advised citizens to avoid travel to Iran. Iran, which responded to strikes last summer by firing missiles at Israel, has warned it will retaliate if attacked again.
For now, Oman’s mediation has opened a narrow window. Whether technical talks in Vienna can convert “significant progress” into a durable accord will hinge on bridging core disputes — from enrichment limits and verification to the reach of sanctions relief and the fate of Iran’s missiles.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
