Iran may propose an interim nuclear deal in talks with US - Axios

Iranian and American delegations are scheduled to arrive in Muscat on Saturday morning and the negotiations are set to begin in the afternoon, the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Tasnim News reported.

The talks will begin after separate meetings with Oman's Foreign Minister, who will act as the mediator between the two sides, it added.

The report cited sources familiar with the matter saying Iran has clearly outlined its red lines ahead of the talks. "These include a strict rejection of any threatening rhetoric from the American delegation, a firm refusal to entertain excessive demands or frameworks regarding its nuclear program, and an insistence that no discussions related to Iran’s defense industry be raised."

"Iran will not tolerate any form of threat or attempts to cross these red lines during the negotiations," the report said citing the sources.

"However, they added that Iran remains open to building confidence around the peaceful nature of its nuclear program—provided that sanctions are lifted in return."

"If the US is genuinely concerned only about the possibility of an Iranian nuclear bomb, the path to agreement should not be difficult," Tasnim cited the sources as saying.

"But if the Americans enter the talks with duplicity and excessive demands, they must be prepared to shoulder the international blame for any obstruction of the negotiation process."

The Iranian and US delegations would be in the same room for the talks slated for Saturday in Oman, Reuters reported citing a US official familiar with the planning.

Iranian officials have insisted that the talks will be indirect, rejecting any direct negotiation with Washington.

Iran's former foreign minister expressed hope that upcoming talks between Iran and the United States in Oman would lead to Mideast peace.

"Muscat means birthplace. Thirteen years ago, during my service in the foreign ministry, direct pre-JCPOA talks with the United States were born in this very city," Ali Akbar Salehi wrote in a post on X Thursday, referring to a 2015 nuclear deal.

"In politics, prediction is neither possible nor desirable, but we have always returned from Muscat with great success. I hope this city will be the foundation of a lasting spring in the Middle East," Salehi added.

A group of hardliners gathered in front of the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Thursday to protest the Islamic Republic's upcoming negotiations with the United States.

The protesters held placards reading, "You'll make a deal again, they'll scrap it again" and "We need guarantees."

Another placard read, "We need a few wise, dignified and honorable officials," referencing Khamenei's earlier stance that negotiations with the US are "unwise, undignified and dishonorable."

Similar protests were held on Wednesday in Tehran's Palestine Square, during which hardline demonstrators torched and trampled on US and Israeli flags.

The United States on Thursday criticized a suggestion by influential former Iranian security chief Ali Shamkhani that US threats could prompt Tehran to end cooperation with United Nations nuclear inspectors and hide its uranium.

“These actions—the threat of that kind of action—are inconsistent with Iran’s claims of a peaceful nuclear program,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing.

“Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state producing highly enriched uranium at this level,” she said.

“Why would one need to do that if it was for peaceful energy work? Doesn't make much sense.”