Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says decision on further rounds of talks to be taken after consultation \u2018with the capitals\u2019
\n Tehran, Iran
\nIranian authorities described the latest talks with the United States in Oman as \u201cpositive\u201d, while US President Donald Trump said the indirect discussions were \u201cvery good\u201d, but the mediated negotiations in Oman have yet to offer a roadmap to alleviate growing fears of a US attack.
\nSpeaking to Iranian television in Muscat on Friday after the talks finished, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the indirect talks got off to \u201ca good start\u201d and that a decision on how to proceed with further rounds would be taken after \u201cconsulting with the capitals\u201d.
\nAraghchi also cautioned that there was a climate of \u201cmistrust\u201d after the US military attacked Iran\u2019s nuclear sites when it briefly joined Israel\u2019s 12-day war with Iran in June, days before a sixth round of similarly mediated indirect talks had been scheduled.
\nPresident Trump, speaking to reporters later on board Air Force One, said the US had \u201cvery good\u201d talks on Iran and said more were planned for early next week.
\nBut Trump also kept up his threats, warning that if Iran did not make a deal over its nuclear programme, \u201cthe consequences are very steep\u201d.
\n\u201cIran looks like they want to make a deal very badly \u2013 as they should,\u201d Trump said, suggesting Tehran may be willing to \u201cdo more\u201d than in previous talks, but he did not give details.
\nIran\u2019s team at the indirect talks in Muscat was led by Araghchi, while Washington sent special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner. US Central Command chief Brad Cooper, the most senior commander in the region, also joined the US delegation.
\nOman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi met with the US and Iranian sides separately multiple times on Friday and conveyed messages between the teams.
\n\u201cIt was useful to clarify both Iranian and American thinking and identify areas for possible progress,\u201d he said, adding that the aim is to \u201creconvene in due course\u201d.
\nConsultations \u201cfocused on creating appropriate conditions for the resumption of diplomatic and technical negotiations\u201d, according to a statement from Oman\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
\nThe talks come as Trump considers military options against Iran. The US has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier and supporting warships and fighter jets near Iranian waters, strengthened air defences in bases used by the US military across the region, while US forces also shot down an Iranian drone this week.
\nTrump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if it does not reach a new agreement with the US on several issues.<\/p>\n
Red lines
\nThe US wants Iran to fully abandon enriching uranium, even at the 3.67 percent civilian-use rate agreed under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018. Iran used to enrich up to 60 percent before its main nuclear facilities were destroyed or significantly damaged by US bombs in June.
\nWashington also wants to limit the range of Iran\u2019s ballistic missiles \u2013 the main tool in the country\u2019s arsenal \u2013 and ensure that Tehran\u2019s aligned armed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria will no longer receive any military or financial support.
\nSeveral European powers have expressed support for the US demands, as has the far-right government in Israel, which wants to undermine a substantive military rival in the region.
\nBut the Iranian government has repeatedly emphasised that it will only negotiate on nuclear issues to lift sanctions and de-escalate, saying that discussions on missiles or any other subject were a red line. As Araghchi reiterated on Friday, it also wants the US threats of war to end.
\nIranian commanders have also said they remain highly prepared for a regional-scale war, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday showed a new test launch of one of the country\u2019s top ballistic missiles.
\nIranian Press TV said the Khorramshahr-4 missile, capable of reaching Israel and US bases across the region, was put on a mobile launcher taken out from an underground base.
\nYadollah Javani, the political deputy for the IRGC, said that \u201cunveiling the missile means that although we have sat down at the negotiating table, we will not give up our military power\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Conditions more severe than war\u2019
\nPeople in Iran are closely following the developments.
\nBut there are fewer signs of the cautious optimism seen during five rounds of previous negotiations held last year in the lead-up to the 12-day war with Israel.
\nSoroush, a Tehran resident, told Al Jazeera he hopes the negotiations can lift the shadow of war hanging over Iran.
\n\u201cWar not only brings fear and anxiety, but also doubles the economic pressure,\u201d he said, as the country deals with one of the highest inflation rates in the world.
\nBut another resident, Maryam, said she believes the negotiations will not succeed \u201cand will definitely lead to war\u201d due to the clashing positions of the two sides.
\nAngered by the unprecedented killings of thousands during last month\u2019s nationwide protests and frustrated by a prolonged state of unpredictability and pressure, some are actually welcoming a military escalation.
\n\u201cWar is not a good thing, but the conditions we are living in now are, in many ways, larger and more severe than war itself,\u201d said Amir from the capital. \u201cI don\u2019t think that with war something worse than what already exists will happen.\u201d
\nThe Iranian government says that 3,117 people were killed during the protests, and that \u201cterrorists\u201d and \u201crioters\u201d were to blame, not state forces. It also released a controversial list of victims this week that has only raised more questions.
\nThe United Nations and international human rights organisations say they have documented widespread use of lethal weapons by state forces, as well as attacks on hospitals and medical staff helping wounded protesters. Rights groups say the actual death toll is likely far higher than the official figure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says decision on further rounds of talks to be taken after consultation \u2018with the capitals\u2019 Tehran, Iran Iranian authorities described the latest talks with the United States in Oman as \u201cpositive\u201d, while US President Donald Trump said the indirect discussions were \u201cvery good\u201d, but the mediated negotiations in Oman have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-530110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n