Deep divisions threaten US-Iran talks - Guardian

The "indirect talks" with the United States in Oman already represent a political gain for Iran and a setback for Washington, a senior Iranian hardliner and editor of the state-linked Kayhan newspaper said on Saturday.

“The benefit for the US from this indirect negotiation is the failure to impose its extortionist demands,” Hossein Shariatmadari, who represents Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Kayhan, wrote in a column. “What remains for Iran is yet another experience proving the United States is not trustworthy.”

He added, “From now, the result of Saturday’s indirect talks with the US can be scored one-nil in favor of the Islamic Republic.”

Kayhan, a fiercely conservative daily funded by the office of the Supreme Leader, often reflects the views of Iran’s most hardline political circles.

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A visit by US President Donald Trump’s envoy to Iran would be acceptable if Washington puts forward credible proposals during the ongoing talks in Oman, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday.

“If the Americans bring something to the table in Oman that is worth hearing and discussing, there is no issue with Witkoff coming to Iran,” said Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.

Speaking to Iranian media, Zohrevand added that the Oman meeting is aimed at gauging the seriousness of the US side. “Oman is about testing the other side’s credibility, not about negotiating over a defined subject,” he said.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has given Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "full authority" to lead nuclear talks with the United States, an Iranian official told Reuters.

“The duration of the talks, that will only be about the nuclear issue, will depend on the US side's seriousness and goodwill,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Iran has repeatedly ruled out discussing its defense capabilities, including its ballistic missile program, in the negotiations.

The meeting in Muscat marks the first direct diplomatic engagement between Tehran and Washington since a series of escalating regional tensions and the collapse of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

If US President Donald Trump’s shock announcement in the Oval Office on Wednesday that his administration was due to hold talks with Iran this weekend was a surprise, the choice of Oman as host was not.

For years, the Sultanate has supported diplomatic back-channels between the United States and Iran, and has built up a record as a credible intermediary trusted by both sides.

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A former Iranian foreign minister warned on Friday that any US-initiated military conflict with Iran would lead to severe and far-reaching consequences across the region and beyond.

“If America starts a war with Iran, not only will it not be able to control or end it, but it will face horrific, destabilizing consequences in the region and the entire world — extending as far as Ukraine and Taiwan,” Ali Akbar Salehi wrote on X.

Salehi, who also formerly headed Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, added: “The US must understand that negotiation is always better than war — especially today.”