The negotiations between Iran and the United States on the issue of the nuclear project will begin Saturday in Muscat, Oman's capital, but according to Iran and Arab sources, they will not be as direct as US President Donald Trump declared yesterday. Information received by Israel Hayom indicates that the United States will be represented as expected by Steve Witkoff, who also hinted at this direction in interviews several weeks ago.
The Iranian delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi serving as mediator. The contacts and message exchanges, as reported in Israel Hayom last week, began directly due to economic pressure on Iran. Sanctions on oil exports led to a sharp 60% decline in Iran's oil sales in the first two months of the year with expectations of further decline in coming months. During these contacts, the US also demonstrated its military strength through bombings of the Houthis in Yemen, threats toward Iran in this context, and moving aircraft carriers and advanced bombers to Iran's backyard. Joint exercises with Israel and leaked information about preparations for a joint attack also helped increase pressure.
The contacts revealed Iranians' desire to avoid military confrontation by opening indirect negotiations, but without admitting to the politically inferior position they found themselves in. This is why the contacts are defined this way from the Iranian side, though direct, unofficial talks between the parties are expected. The conservative faction in Iran, the Revolutionary Guards, and most parliament members had to absorb the humiliation despite their firm opposition to any negotiations, and the fact that Supreme Leader Khamenei essentially accepted President Pezeshkian's position favoring negotiations.
According to international sources, Iran refused to include its missile project and support for terrorist organizations in the region within the negotiation framework, but the Americans made it clear to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that these issues would be on the table. The sources say another clarification conveyed to Netanyahu is that the agreement will not be a reproduction of the previous 2015 agreement, but is intended for the complete elimination of Iran's nuclear program and real oversight of its implementation. It was also clarified that Israel would be informed about the contacts and conversations and would be able to convey its position to the American negotiators. It should be noted that in the previous negotiations, United States President Barack Obama excluded Israel from the talks, though Israeli demands that reached the negotiating team were partially incorporated into the agreement.
Iran's deteriorating economic situation is undoubtedly one of the reasons for Iranian capitulation in agreeing to negotiations with the US, alongside the belief in Iran that it will be possible to buy time through negotiations and possibly reach an agreement that will save both the regime and the economy. The conciliatory approach of Steve Witkoff, expressed in several interviews, contributed to this. "Among other things," he said, "I think there's a real possibility for this to be resolved diplomatically. I think the president acknowledged that he's open to the opportunity to clear everything with Iran, they return to the world and become a great nation again and don't need to receive sanctions and can succeed in growing their economy. Their economy – I mean, these are very smart people. Their economy was once a wonderful economy. They're suffocating and choking today. There's no need for this to happen."
