US 'contradictions' key obstacle in nuclear talks, says FM Araghchi

Iran’s delegation has arrived in Muscat and is preparing for negotiations with the United States, scheduled to begin around noon, a source familiar with the matter told Tasnim website.

The source added that Oman's foreign minister will determine the meeting location.

Any future talks with the United States should be contingent on an apology from Donald Trump, and should not proceed otherwise, wrote Iran's Kayhan newspaper, which operates under the supervision of a representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

It said that US President Donald Trump is “a narcissistic human-like figure more akin to a dictatorial king than a president.”

The paper added that Trump pursued talks with Iran to signal to the Islamic Republic’s proxy forces that “even their model of resistance against arrogance ultimately had no path but negotiation.”

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s call for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the end of its enrichment program “validate the Iranian nation's suspicion that the US is addicted to its maximum-pressure policies,” Iran's state-run Press TV reported, citing a senior Iranian official.

Witkoff's remarks “not only expose the inconsistency and unreliability of American decision-makers but also reinforce the suspicion that the American side is ‘under the influence and temptation of neoconservatives and Netanyahu’.”

"Military action depends on them [Iran], in whether or not they believe in taking President Trump seriously," Israel's Channel 12 reported citing US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

In the Saturday interview, Huckabee emphasized that there will not be nuclear weapons in Iran.

"There won't be a deal that involves Iran with nuclear capacity."

An Iranian official told CNN that the talks with the US on Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief were “not genuine” and likely a “trap to draw the situation toward tension.”

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the pauses and delays—opposed by Tehran—as a “political and media game” by Washington and said Iran is preparing for failed negotiations.

A US official told CNN Saturday that “President Trump is completely sincere in his desire to reach a deal with Iran and is completely committed to getting one.”

“The United States will ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, but also wishes for lasting peace in the Middle East, a new relationship with Iran, and for the Iranian people to reach their nation’s full potential,” said the US official.