The envoys of the United States and Iran began talks in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme on Saturday. While no immediate agreement is likely to be reached, the stakes involved in the talks are high for both the nations closing in on half a century of enmity. In recent times, President Donald Trump has been threatening Iran if it fails to reach a consensus with the US over its nuclear programme.
While Trump has repeatedly made threats to strike Tehran, targeting Iran's nuclear programme if a deal isn't reached, Iran has warned that it could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Iranian Foreign Minister meets Omani counterpart
Prior to the talks with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, Iran's Foreign Ministry released footage of Tehran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.
According to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, Araghchi provided Iran's “stance and key points for the talks to be conveyed to the US side”.
Iran calls talks 'indirect', Trump refers it to be 'direct'
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, in a statement, said, "These talks will be held at a location planned by the Omani host, with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States seated in the halls and sides, conveying their points of view and positions to each other through the Omani Foreign Minister."
While Trump and Witkoff both have described the talks as being “direct", the Iranian side refers to it as 'indirect' talks.
What does the US seek from the talks?
In the meeting, the US side will look to offer lucrative deals to Iran as it seeks Tehran to concede its nuclear programme. Currently, Iran faces sanctions from the US and is vulnerable in the wake of a tumultuous 18 months in the Middle East.
Recently, the US Treasury Department announced a fresh set of sanctions, targeting five entities and an individual that American officials say play key roles in Iran's nuclear programme.
When Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal with Iran
During his first term as president, Donald Trump in 2018 pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Deal, which was between Iran and six major powers (five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany).
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran could only maintain a small stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.67%. Today, Tehran's stockpile could allow it to build multiple nuclear weapons if it so chooses, and it has some material enriched up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
(With inputs from AP)
Also Read | 'Great danger': Trump threatens Iran prior to talks in Oman, says 'it can't have a nuclear weapon'