Muscat: Iran said indirect nuclear talks with the United States via Omani mediators gauged Washington’s seriousness and revealed enough consensus to pursue diplomacy further, despite regional tensions from a US naval buildup, according to reports.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Tuesday described last week’s Muscat meeting as brief but effective. “The Muscat meeting was not a long meeting. In our view, it was to gauge the seriousness of the other side and how to continue this path,” Baghaei said, adding: “After the talks, we felt there was understanding and consensus to continue the diplomatic process.”
The session followed President Donald Trump’s deployment of a naval flotilla, heightening fears of military escalation after stalled JCPOA revival efforts since 2021.
Meanwhile, Ali Larijani — advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei — traveled to Oman Tuesday for pre-planned follow-ups before heading to Qatar. Baghaei urged the US to resist “foreign pressures, especially Israeli pressures that ignore the interests of the region and even the US”. This comes ahead of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected visit to Washington on Wednesday.
