US props up economy through stolen oil, IRGC commander says

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Muscat on Friday evening at the head of a diplomatic and technical delegation for indirect talks with the United States, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

“Based on the schedule arranged by our Omani hosts and agreed upon by Iran and the United States, expert-level meetings and indirect discussions between our foreign minister and the US president’s special envoy will be held on Saturday,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters, according to ILNA.

Baghaei said the Iranian side would proceed “step by step, based on the behavior of the other party,” and that “no effort will be spared to secure the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian people.”

He added that progress in negotiations depends on the other side showing “goodwill, seriousness, and realism.”

A former Iranian ambassador said Friday that Iran has made a clear moral commitment not to pursue nuclear arms, as indirect talks with the United States continue.

“We have pledged to humanity that we will not seek nuclear weapons and will distance ourselves from building a bomb,” said Hossein Noshabadi, Iran’s former envoy to Oman, in an interview with ILNA news agency.

Noshabadi also cautioned against expectations of a rapid breakthrough. “We should not expect to reach an early agreement,” he said, though he noted the talks have been “constructive and positive.”

The former diplomat called for recognition of Iran’s peaceful nuclear rights and urged the US to abandon what he described as “tension-provoking behavior.” He said any final deal must respect Iran’s sovereignty and be free of maximum pressure tactics.

Plans for US special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Iranian officials in Oman this weekend remain unconfirmed, US officials told The Washington Post, despite a public statement by the State Department that he would attend.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Thursday that Witkoff would join a separate meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday.

But other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, said his travel plans “were not yet determined.”

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday signaled that any potential agreement with the United States could be short-lived.

His remarks---delivered In his customary cryptic language, and invoking historical Islamic precedents---appear to be an attempt to address the concerns of his most loyal supporters, many of whom deem any rapprochement with Washington as betrayal.

“When Imam Hasan Mojtaba made peace with Mu'awiyah, some people came forward with complaints and objections. The Imam said, ‘It is temporary… this dominance of heresy and hypocrisy is not meant to be permanent,’” Khamenei said in a religious event on Thursday.

He also warned against disunity and objections without direct reference to the ongoing talks with the Trump administration.

“Our shortcomings—at times our loose talk, at times our failure to help, our needless protests, lack of patience, flawed analysis—can (have an adverse) impact," he added.

Iranian and American delegations are scheduled to discuss technical details of a potential nuclear agreement in Oman this weekend.

The US team for Saturday's technical talks with Iran will be led by the state department's director of policy planning Michael Anton and chief negotiator Steve Witkoff, the state department announced on Thursday.

Anton was confirmed as Washington's chief technical negotiator earlier in the day, tasked to hash out the details of a potential deal that could see sanctions relief for Iran in return for significant restrictions on its nuclear program.