Ahead of US-Iran Nuclear talks in Oman, the US president Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he “should be very worried.” The Nuke talk between the US and Iran was confirmed on Wednesday that they will proceed with nuclear negotiations in Oman, Muscat on Friday. Trump’s rhetoric against Tehran’s leader came just one day ahead.
Speaking to NBC News, Trump said Iran is currently in talks with the United States. His comments came at a time when the US military forces are stepping up their presence in the region. In the interview, he warned Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying, “I would say he should be very worried.”
Trump’s warning to Iran
Trump also said that Iran had thought about building a new nuclear facility after the US carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel’s war with Tehran in June. “They were thinking about starting a new site in a different part of the country,” he said. “We found out about it, I said, you do that, we’re going to do very bad things to you.”
US-Iran talks on Friday
The announcement on the nuke talks between the two nations came after hours of uncertainty on whether the talks will materialise or not. Earlier there were reports that the discussions were derailed as the long-term rivals were falling apart because they couldn’t agree on the meeting venue or the topics.
Later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that talks will take place between the two countries. He posted on X that the meetings are now “scheduled” for Friday in Muscat, adding, “I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all the necessary arrangements.”
Apart from this A White House official separately confirmed to AFP that the meeting would indeed take place in Oman on Friday. Earlier the meeting venue was decided to be Turkey. However, Axios reported that the US was nearly ready to pull out of the talks because Iran opposed both the meeting venue and the idea of discussing its ballistic missile programme.
Will the talks bear fruit?
Iran-US meeting is back on track. However, there is still a big difference between the two sides. Iran has said it wants talks to focus only on its nuclear programme. However, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any agreement must cover more issues.
Rubio said serious talks should also include Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its support for militant groups in the region, and its treatment of its own citizens. He added that the US is willing to hold talks but will not restrict them to just one topic. Rubio also said that White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is ready to join the meeting.
“They will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles, that includes their sponsorship of terrorist organisations across the region, that includes their nuclear programme and that includes the treatment of their own people,” Rubio said.
What is Iran’s stand?
Iran always rejected negotiations over its missile programme. According to Tehran, arguing that the weapons—capable of reaching Israel—are a legitimate means of self-defence. Tehran now faces mounting pressure at home and abroad, following last year’s Israeli bombing campaign and the weakening of key regional allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fall of Syria’s longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.
Increased US Military activity
The talks are restarting at a very tense time. US military activity in the region has increased, and earlier this week a US jet shot down an Iranian drone that flew close to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. This incident pushed oil prices up and raised fears of a wider conflict.
Tensions have also increased after Iran’s recent crackdown on protests inside the country, in which thousands were killed. All these developments have made the situation around the talks more fragile.
