Trump administration divided on Iran nuclear talks ahead of Oman meeting – WSJ
The Trump administration enters a new round of nuclear talks with Iran in Oman without a clear position on key demands, as internal divisions persist, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
While President Trump has described the negotiations as “going well,” officials told the Journal that the US approach has been “mixed” and marked by “significant internal debate.”
Special envoy Steve Witkoff has held three rounds of indirect talks with Iranian counterparts and is expected to meet again this weekend. He has proposed lifting sanctions and taking military action off the table if Iran agrees to dismantle its nuclear program and purchase enriched uranium from the US.
However, “there’s no firm US position on what dismantlement looks like,” one official said. Trump, who previously called for “total dismantlement,” said Wednesday, “We haven’t made that decision yet.”
So far, Iran has sought to keep its centrifuges and shown no sign of dismantling any of its nuclear work, the Journal reported.
Nearly two years after stepping down as the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Ali Shamkhani appears determined to maintain influence over Tehran’s evolving nuclear diplomacy.
The showy kingpin's sensitive interventions into the negotiations, through social media statements in his own name and high stakes leaks by his multi-lingual media outlet, signal he is determined to remain at the heart of diplomacy.
Though no longer officially at the helm of Iran's top security apparatus, Shamkhani retains considerable sway as a political adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.
His tenure as security chief ended in May 2023, but Nour News - the multilingual media outlet he founded in 2020 - ensured his public profile would continue to loom large.
Shamkhani and Tehran-Washington talks
Shamkhani’s comments are frequently picked up by Iranian and foreign media outlets, turning his posts into unofficial barometers of Tehran’s policy direction.
A prolific user of the social media platform X, Shamkhani regularly posts in a range of languages—Persian, English, Hebrew, Russian, and Chinese—indicating his wish to be recognized by international audience as an insider with close knowledge of the talks.
Ahead of the first round of indirect Tehran-Washington negotiations in Muscat last month, Shamkhani made headlines by declaring that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would attend the talks “with full authority.”
The phrasing, widely interpreted as confirmation that Araghchi was carrying a full mandate from Supreme Leader Khamenei himself, was seen as a rare public affirmation of Iran’s seriousness about reaching an agreement.
More recently, Shamkhani said that both the US intelligence community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had come to accept that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons.
“Both are determined to continue on the right path of talks,” he wrote in several languages, adding, “Sanction removal and recognition of Iran’s right to industrial enrichment can guarantee a deal.”
The tone of Shamkhani’s post suggested a softening of stance and marked a contrast between his earlier, more hardline tone and this new language suggesting diplomatic flexibility.
Shamkhani was among the officials who strongly supported a law that the Parliament passed in December 2020 against the wishes of then-president Hassan Rouhani--- named the Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect the Nation's Interests.
The legislation required Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity—well above the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—and to install advanced centrifuges.
Nour News
Much of Shamkhani’s media influence flows through Nour News, a news outlet linked closely to his political network. Launched in Persian in early 2020 and later expanded into English, Arabic and Hebrew, Nour News plays an outsized role in shaping news on Iran’s nuclear talks.
The site frequently publishes exclusive reports on nuclear talks and other matters, often citing anonymous “informed sources.” These reports are widely shared by both domestic and international media, reinforcing the outlet’s reputation as a semi-official voice.
But the interventions have been less welcome at home.
Nour News cited an anonymous source saying the fourth round of talks would focus on “humanitarian and security concerns," without elaborating, suggesting discussions had expanded beyond the nuclear dossier—a detail never disclosed by negotiators.
“Agencies and esteemed officials who receive classified reports must protect them. Leaking information to favored outlets undermines national interests,” retorted Mohammad Hossein Ranjbaran, an adviser to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
“There’s a difference between building media credibility and childish competition for scoops."
Skeletons in the closet
Shamkhani’s interventions could be aimed at repairing his stature after espionage and corruption controversies dented his reputation.
His departure from the SNSC in May 2023 came amid the fallout from one of the most sensitive espionage cases in the Islamic Republic’s recent history.
Akbari had long been known as a close associate and adviser to Shamkhani, raising questions about internal security breaches at the highest levels of the Iranian state.
Though authorities never directly linked Shamkhani to Akbari’s alleged espionage, the execution cast a pall over his continued leadership of the SNSC.
Shamkhani has also faced persistent allegations of corruption, particularly concerning his family's business dealings. These ventures have been linked to circumventing US sanctions by facilitating oil exports through so-called ghost fleets.
"They have stated back that they don’t want (a nuclear bomb),” US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Breitbart News. “If that’s how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges."
"An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement," he added.
“That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization, and it means that Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan—those are their three enrichment facilities—have to be dismantled.”
“(If talks) are not productive on Sunday, then they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route,” he added.
Witkoff said the United States is not going to negotiate a deal with Iran similar to the Obama-era accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Witkoff described as too lenient on Tehran.
The real estate mogul turned ambassador said Iran would be “unwise” to “test President Trump,” adding that Iran needed to accede to US demands: “They have no choice”.
The initial consensus in Iran in support of nuclear talks with the United States is beginning to show signs of strain, as some hardliners express unease over what they see as a hardening tone from Washington.
Some warn that President Donald Trump is unpredictable and may change course at any moment; others go further, calling the talks a trap. There are even accusations of insider sabotage, with fingers pointed at those said to benefit from continued sanctions.
What are the doubters saying?
“The US government will block the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales and international banking,” vocal conservative analyst Foad Izadi asserted in an interview with the Didban Iran news outlet on Thursday.
Even if a deal is signed, Izadi warned, meaningful sanctions relief is unlikely because an entrenched hawkish faction in Washington is at work to undermine any agreement.
Recent comments by President Trump and his team—along with interventions from the likes of Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Mike Lawler—appear to have deepened concerns in Tehran, pushing hardliners like Izadi to break their begrudging silence.
“The Americans may attack Iran even in the middle of talks or afterward if they believe the costs of doing so are minimal. They did the same to Libya,” the US-educated pundit added.
What's the connection to Libya?
Slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave up the North African nation’s nuclear and missile program in 2003 to improve ties with the West.
But in Tehran’s view he was betrayed once popular protests broke out in 2010, morphing into an armed revolution backed by NATO air strikes culminating in Gadaffi's grisly killing by rebels.
“Some Iranian politicians believe that if we abandon our nuclear and missile development programs, the US will treat us as favorably as it treats Saudi Arabia,” former MP Elias Naderan told Khabar Online on Thursday.
“But in reality, they will treat us just as they treated Syria and Libya.”
As long as the Islamic Republic is in conflict with Israel, there will be no rapprochement with the United States, Naderan asserted.
His comments signal a return to older hardline rhetoric that equates disarmament with vulnerability in the face of unwavering hostility from the US, hastening the downfall of the theocracy.
Who is being accused of sabotage?
Some moderate and centrist are accusing former security chief Ali Shamkhani of leaking confidential details about the ongoing talks.
The accusations have found more relevance because Shamkhani’s son is allegedly involved in exports of Iranian oil and his business could suffer, according to his critics, if sanctions are lifted.
Earlier this week, a website with links to Shamkhani published a report with some details from the ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington—including a claim that the US government had accepted that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons.
“Shamkhani’s disclosure … has fueled pressure from US neoconservatives on Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, thereby jeopardizing the negotiations,” centrist outlet Entekhab wrote in an editorial.
What do the critiques mean?
While Tehran continues its cautious diplomatic engagement with Washington, these public statements reflect a fractured elite struggling to agree on whether diplomacy is a shield or a trap.
The resurfacing of Libya parallels, warnings about war, and accusations of sabotage all point to a deeper anxiety about the outcome of the talks—and the fate of the Islamic Republic.
Iran International received an award at the 12th annual America Abroad Media (AAM) Awards, in a ceremony held on Thursday in Washington DC.
The annual AAM Awards recognize "outstanding leaders whose work exemplifies the power of media to inform, educate, and empower."
Iran International was recognized for its efforts in bringing the voices of the Iranian people to a global audience and its commitment to accurate and transparent reporting.
This year’s recipients also included Dr. Mathias Döpfner, chairman and CEO of Axel Springer SE—parent company of Politico and Business Insider—and a board member at Netflix; Oscar-nominated Lebanese filmmaker Ziad Doueiri, known for The Insult and The Attack; and Moira Forbes, president and publisher of Forbes Women.
Republican Senator Dave McCormick, US presidential deputy special envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus, French Ambassador Laurent Bili, Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, Egyptian Ambassador Motaz Zahran, and Azerbaijani Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim were among notable guests attending the event held at Fairmont hotel.
The AAM initiative celebrates those who contribute to media education, empowerment, and impactful storytelling, especially in challenging environments. The ceremony gathers diplomats, politicians, and cultural figures from around the world to highlight the importance of dialogue and press freedom.
Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich (center) along with Iran International's Zoubin Navi (left), Gelareh Hon (second from left), Roxana Kheirkar (right) and Samira Gharaei.
Receiving the award, the executive editor of Iran International in Washington DC Mehdi Parpanchi said, “Iran International is right now the most-watched news channel among Iranians—inside the country and across the diaspora. And we are the only 24/7 newsroom fully dedicated to covering Iran."
“That’s not a technical setup—it’s a line of communication in the dark," he added.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, Parpanchi dedicated the award to the network’s audience and said a significant portion of the channel’s content is drawn from firsthand accounts sent by citizens across Iran.
In May 2024, Iran International was awarded with the 2024 Geneva Summit Courage Award for "fearlessly uncovering the daily abuses of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
The fourth round of Iran-US talks will be held on Sunday in Oman, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News reported Friday citing a member of Iran's negotiating team.
Later in the day, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had accepted Oman’s request to hold a fourth round of talks with the United States on Sunday, but he was not aware if Washington has responded yet.
"So far, Sunday is the scheduled date for the next round," he told the Iranian news outlet Shahr Ara.
