Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are in Oman for another round of indirect talks.
This is the third meeting. The first meeting also took place in Oman in April. The second meeting took place on April 19 in Rome. While hopes were high at the first and second meetings, some of those hopes appeared to fade in the last week.
Iran has sought to balance these hopes by working with Russia and China. Iran is also seeking to mediate between India and Pakistan after a terror attack on tourists in Kashmir.
“Representatives from Iran and the United States commenced the third round of indirect negotiations in Muscat, Oman, focusing on the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions,” Iran’s state media IRNA said on April 26.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi is mediating the discussions, which center on disputes related to Iran’s nuclear program, IRNA noted.
“This round of talks includes expert and technical discussions. The expert delegation is being led by Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, Deputy for Political Affairs, and Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for Legal and International Affairs, both from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.”
US, Iran to discus “technical issues” of a nuclear deal in third round of talks
The third round of talks is expected to deal with “technical issues.” This could be more complex than the first two rounds of talks, which were kind of a way for both sides to judge if the other is serious.
Iran believed the US was serious. However, it has now downplayed expectations. “Scheduled as a one-day negotiation, the third round of talks may extend due to the importance of technical issues being discussed,” IRNA noted. “Following the second negotiation, Araqchi said that this session was productive and that the discussions were progressing. Both sides were moving toward a better consensus on a series of principles and objectives.”
Araqchi also met his Omani counterpart. Oman has played a key role in the talks. Oman often positions itself as a neutral country in the region, open to meeting all sides.
It has also played the same role in hosting talks about Yemen and also hosted Israel’s Prime Minister in 2018, a trip that may have paved the way for the Abraham Accords.
Oman did not join the Accords, in part to keep itself neutral and also because it likely did not see progress by Israel on any issues relating to peace or two states. Oman takes peace seriously and has shown in the last decade how committed it is to peace in the region.
Iran is now weighing its options in relation to the nuclear deal. It rejects US sanctions and wonders if the US administration is serious about a deal. While it thought Trump was serious, it is more concerned about other parts of the Trump administration.
Iran likely believes a deal may be derailed when its details come to light. This is because Iran does not want to dismantle its nuclear program. It wants to have its cake and eat it too, as the saying goes. Thus, Iran is willing to do talks but doesn’t really want to change much in terms of Iran’s own policies.
Jesus Christ is King
