GENEVA — Oman said the United States and Iran made “significant progress” in talks aimed at breaking a longstanding nuclear impasse and averting potential new U.S. strikes, as both sides agreed to reconvene within a week and send technical teams to Vienna.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who is mediating the diplomacy, said on X, formerly Twitter, that negotiations in Switzerland ended with “creative and positive ideas” on the table and a plan to resume discussions soon after consultations in both capitals. Technical-level talks are slated for next week in Vienna, he said.
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Any movement toward an elusive agreement between Washington and Tehran could ease immediate fears of a wider conflict as the United States accelerates a military buildup across the Middle East. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. negotiating team on the outcome.
Iranian negotiator Araqchi described the exchanges as “intense and serious,” telling state television that the sides “reached agreement on some issues” but still had differences on others. He said the next round would take place “in less than a week,” and emphasized Tehran’s demand for sanctions relief.
While Oman cast the talks as a breakthrough, core disputes remain. A senior Iranian official told Reuters a framework could be within reach if Washington separated “nuclear and non-nuclear issues.” The Trump administration has insisted Iran’s ballistic missile program and regional activities must be part of any deal. U.S. officials also want Iran to end all uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for civilian power but also material for a bomb. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has signaled flexibility on nuclear steps in exchange for relief from U.S. sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s refusal to discuss its missile arsenal is a “big problem” that will have to be addressed, arguing the missiles are “designed solely to strike America” and threaten regional stability. Speaking to reporters in Saint Kitts, Rubio added, “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.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Press TV the agenda would focus strictly on nuclear issues and sanctions relief, saying Tehran approaches the process with “seriousness and flexibility.”
The diplomacy unfolds amid escalatory rhetoric and a visible show of force. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 19 that Iran must reach a deal within 10 to 15 days or “really bad things” could happen. He has amassed U.S. air power and naval assets near Iran, after warning in January he could intervene over Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that left thousands dead.
In June last year, the United States joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites, and Iran responded by firing volleys of missiles at Israel, heightening fears of a broader war that alarms Gulf oil producers. Several countries have begun withdrawing diplomatic dependents and nonessential personnel from parts of the region and advising citizens against travel to Iran.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, departed a port near the Greek island of Crete on Thursday bound for waters off northern Israel and is expected to arrive near Haifa on Friday. A U.S. official said the United States also sent around a dozen F-22 fighter jets to Israel — the first time Washington has deployed combat aircraft to the country for potential wartime operations. The Trump administration has not formally announced the deployments, and the Pentagon declined to comment.
Despite the appearance of momentum, even the sequencing and scope of sanctions relief remain disputed, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Inside Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with the economy reeling under tightened sanctions and renewed unrest. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, reiterating a fatwa from the early 2000s that “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons.”
Whether Oman’s shuttle diplomacy can lock in a framework before brinkmanship overtakes the process may be decided in Vienna next week — and in the pace of deployments at sea.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
