Negotiations between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program return to secluded Oman

By JON GAMBRELL MUSCAT Oman AP Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear operation will return Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman where experts on both sides will start hammering out the technical details of a practicable deal The talks seek to limit Iran s nuclear project in exchange for the lifting of selected of the crushing economic sanctions the U S has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity U S President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran s scheme if a deal isn t reached Iranian executives increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels Neither Iran nor the U S has offered any explanation on why the talks will return to Muscat the Omani capital nestled in the Hajar Mountains Oman has been a mediator between the countries Last weekend s talks in Rome offered a more-equal flight distance between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff who are leading the negotiations But Rome remains in mourning after the death of Pope Francis whose funeral will be Saturday And Iranian state television in covering last weekend s talks complained at length on air about the paparazzi gathered across the street from the Omani Embassy in Rome s Camilluccia neighborhood Iranians on Friday in Tehran remained hopeful the talks could be flourishing as the Iranian rial has rebounded from historic lows It s OK to negotiate to make the nuclear scheme smaller or bigger and reach a deal Tehran resident Farzin Keivan declared Of syllabus we shouldn t give them everything After all we ve suffered a lot for this activity In this photo distributed by Iranian Foreign Ministry Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left speaks with an unidentified Omani official upon his arrival at Muscat Oman Friday April a day prior to negotiations with U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP This combo shows Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left pictured in Tehran Iran Tuesday Feb and Steve Witkoff right White House special envoy pictured in Washington Wednesday March AP Photos Stringer Mark Schiefelbein Tourists take photos at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat Oman Saturday April AP Photo Fatima Shbair Worshippers pray during the Friday prayer ceremony at the Tehran University campus in Tehran Iran Friday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Worshippers leave after the conclusion of the Friday prayers in Tehran Iran Friday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Worshippers walk under a mural of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini as they leave after the conclusion of the Friday prayer ceremony in Tehran Iran Friday April AP Photo Vahid Salemi Show Caption of In this photo distributed by Iranian Foreign Ministry Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left speaks with an unidentified Omani official upon his arrival at Muscat Oman Friday April a day prior to negotiations with U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP Expand Peaceful use of nuclear capacity The Muscat talks come as Iran appears to have lined up Chinese and Russian endorsement Araghchi traveled to Moscow last week and this week visited Beijing On Thursday Chinese Iranian and Russian representatives met the head of the International Atomic Vitality Agency the United Nations nuclear watchdog that likely will verify compliance with any accord like it did with Tehran s nuclear deal with world powers That deal included China and Russia as well as France Germany and the United Kingdom in addition to Iran and the U S However Iran has greatly restricted the IAEA s inspections leading to fears internationally that centrifuges and other nuclear material could be diverted The IAEA offered no readout from the talks but China s state-run Xinhua news agency on Friday described the three nations as saying the agency has the necessary likely and expertise to contribute constructively to this process China Russia and Iran emphasized that political and diplomatic engagement based on mutual respect remains the only viable and practical path for resolving the Iran nuclear issue the overview explained It added that China respects Iran s right to the peaceful use of nuclear strength The Trump administration has kept France Germany and the U K out of its direct negotiations with Iran something similarly reflected in Witkoff s negotiations with Russia over ending its war on Ukraine Witkoff traveled Friday to Moscow ahead of Saturday s meeting in Muscat Araghchi meanwhile has stated he s open to visiting Berlin London and Paris to discuss the negotiations The ball is now in the E s court Araghchi wrote on the social platform X on Thursday using an acronym for the countries They have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path U S stance on enrichment hardens Two Iranian deputy foreign ministers Majid Takht-e Ravanchi and Kazem Gharibabadi are expected to lead Tehran s expert band the semiofficial Tasnim news agency revealed Takht-e Ravanchi took part in the nuclear talks while Gharibabadi as well as been involved in atomic negotiations The U S technical band which is expected to arrive in Oman on Friday will be led by Michael Anton the director of U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio s program planning staff Anton does not have the nuclear initiative experience of those who led America s efforts in the talks However he was an early supporter of Trump describing the poll as a charge the cockpit or you die vote A Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto Anton wrote With Trump at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances He also criticized Iran sycophancy in the same essay Rubio speaking on a podcast disclosed this week also kept up a Trump line that Iran needed to stop its enrichment of uranium entirely If Iran wants a civil nuclear venture they can have one just like a large number of other countries can have one and that is they import enriched material Rubio disclosed However former CIA director Bill Burns who took part in the secret negotiations that led to the nuclear deal expressed skepticism Iran would give up its plan like Libya did in I don t personally think that this Iranian regime is going to agree to zero domestic enrichment Burns mentioned in a talk Monday at the University of Chicago To hold out for the Libya model is virtually to ensure that you re not going to be able to reach an agreement Iran on high alert But Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key Witkoff also has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at then later saying that all enrichment must stop Meanwhile one more wildcard is Israel whose devastating war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds on Trump initially released the Iran talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side But Israel which for years has targeted Iran s nuclear scheme with attacks on its facilities and scientists has kept open the possibility of airstrikes to destroy Tehran s enrichment sites On Monday Israel s military conducted drills preparing for achievable new Iranian missile attacks the country s masses broadcaster KAN revealed Our assurance services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response Araghchi wrote on Wednesday in a post on X Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran Iran contributed to this assessment The Associated Press receives sponsorship for nuclear safety coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content