Iran’s foreign minister heads to Muscat for nuclear talks with US

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has departed for the Omani capital Muscat at the head of a diplomatic delegation for nuclear talks with the US due to be held on Friday, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesperson said.

The US and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remain at odds over Washington’s insistence that negotiations must include Tehran’s missile arsenal and Iran’s vow to discuss only its nuclear program.

Iran will engage in the talks “with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue,” the spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.

“We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, realism and seriousness,” Baghaei added.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday that President Donald Trump is looking to Friday’s talks to determine whether a deal can be struck with Iran.

“While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” she said.

The delicate diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions as the US builds up forces in the Middle East and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war.