Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will begin indirect talks with White House Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oman on Saturday, Iran’s semi-official media outlet Tasnim News reported earlier today.
Araghchi told a Tasnim reporter that he would hold indirect talks with Witkoff, the outlet said on its Telegram channel.
Oman will mediate the talks, according to Tasnim, despite President Donald Trump saying yesterday that direct talks between the US and Iran had already begun.
The two parties will discuss Iranian denuclearization, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” Araghchi said on X yesterday.
Some background: Tehran and Washington have not engaged in direct formal talks since the Obama administration negotiated the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, when Iran gave up most of its nuclear capability in return for better integration into the global economy.
Iran restarted its nuclear programs after Trump quashed that deal in 2018.
