Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is due to arrive in Oman on Tuesday, where US-Iran talks were held last Friday on a possible agreement aimed at preventing a military confrontation. At the same time, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei released a recorded message calling on citizens to take part in marches marking the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
The Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, reported that during the visit Larijani would meet "senior Omani officials and discuss regional and international developments as well as bilateral cooperation." The US-Iran talks in Oman on Friday were held with Omani mediation.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said Tehran might be willing to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in return for the full removal of sanctions, according to the ISNA news agency.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after the talks that they were "a good start," but stressed that "the deep mistrust that has developed during this period, on top of the mistrust from the past, is a major challenge on the negotiating path." Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X that "very serious talks were held between Iran and the United States in Muscat." US President Donald Trump, when asked whether Supreme Leader Khamenei should be worried, replied, "I would say he should be very worried. Yes, he should be worried."
Larijani has held a series of senior posts over recent decades, including speaker of parliament and chief negotiator with world powers. His influence has steadily grown since the war, during which he was also appointed to his current position.
According to the Amwaj website, Larijani and Foreign Minister Araghchi are acting as the de facto decision-makers on the negotiations, rather than President Masoud Pezeshkian. Last week Larijani met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where he suggested, according to The New York Times, that Iran might agree to transfer its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia.
President Pezeshkian praised the Oman talks as "a step forward," but Araghchi hinted on Sunday at a conference in Tehran that Iran would not give up uranium enrichment. "They fear our atomic bomb, even though we are not seeking an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers," Araghchi said.
Later Sunday, Supreme Leader Khamenei released a recorded message urging citizens to participate in marches marking the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, to be held on Wednesday. "The presence of the people in the march and their expression of loyalty to the Islamic Republic will cause the enemy to stop coveting Iran," Khamenei said. The message was released a day after Khamenei failed to appear, for the first time in 37 years, at the annual meeting with air force commanders traditionally held on February 8, according to Iran International.
Khamenei added, "National strength has less to do with missiles and aircraft than with the will of nations and their resilience. You have shown resilience, you have shown your will. You must show it again at other moments as well."
