Iran stated this Friday (6) that it is “willing” to defend its sovereignty at the beginning of negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program and other issues, amid threats from Washington, which include possible military action.
The dialogue, whose start in the capital Muscat was confirmed by Iranian television, is the first meeting of its kind between the two enemy nations since the United States joined Israel’s war against Iran in June 2025, with attacks on several
Iran is “willing to defend the country’s sovereignty and national security in the face of any excessive demands or adventures” by the United States, warned Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting with his Omani counterpart, Badr al Busaidi, minutes before the start of the meeting.
“The Islamic Republic uses diplomacy to defend Iran’s national interests,” added the Foreign Minister, who represents his country in the negotiations.
Araghchi had already warned on the social network X that “equality, mutual respect and reciprocal interest are not rhetoric, they are essential and constitute the pillars of a lasting agreement”.
On the American side, the delegation is led by Steve Witkoff, the emissary of United States President Donald Trump.
Washington intends to explore a “zero nuclear capability” for Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, warning that Trump has “many options at his disposal beyond diplomacy.”
The meeting comes amid tension after the United States sent an aircraft carrier to the Middle East following the crackdown on protest movements in Iran in early January, which left thousands dead, according to human rights groups.
“They are negotiating,” Trump said of Iran on Thursday.
“They don’t want us to attack them. We have a large fleet heading there,” he added, referring to the aircraft carrier group, which he repeatedly called an “armada.”
Initially, Trump threatened to resort to military force against Tehran for repression against protestersbut in recent days his rhetoric has focused on stopping the advances of Iran’s nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at making a bomb.
Coinciding with the start of the talks, China said this Friday that it supports Iran “in defending its sovereignty, security, national dignity and legitimate rights and interests”. Beijing expressed opposition to what it called “unilateral intimidation.”
“Between conciliation or war”
With the American threat of military action still on the table, the United States sent the naval group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region, and the Iran has promised action against American bases in the event of an attack.
“We are ready to defend ourselves and it is up to the President of the United States to choose between conciliation or war,” said Iranian Army spokesman General Mohammad Akraminia, quoted on the country’s state television. The military officer warned that Iran has “easy” access to American bases in the region.
Amid tensions, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Islamic Republic’s ideological army, seized two oil tankers with their foreign crews in Gulf waters for “fuel smuggling”, Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear what the flags of the vessels were or the nationalities of the crews.
Meanwhile, in Doha, Qatar, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged the Iranian leadership to “really enter the talks” and added that there is “great fear of a military escalation in the region”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, quoted in his country’s press, said that, “so far”, he sees that “the parties want to create a space for diplomacy”, and added that conflict “is not the solution”.
The New York Times, which cited anonymous Iranian sources, stated that the United States government accepted that the talks would exclude regional leaders and that, although the meeting focused on the nuclear issue, issues of missiles and militant groups would also be discussed, “with the aim of developing a framework for an agreement”.
*AFP
