The US has confirmed that Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, will lead technical talks with Iranian officials in Oman this Saturday.
Anton will lead dozens of US officials in talks that will focus on the details of a potential nuclear deal before US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi hold another round of negotiations.
The negotiations between the US and Iran appear to be advancing despite US officials publicly calling for Iran to end its nuclear enrichment program altogether, a non-starter for Tehran.
President Trump said Thursday that talks were going well but again hinted at military action if a deal isn’t reached.
“I think we’re doing very well with respect to Iran,” Trump said. “We’re having very serious meetings, and there are only two options. And one option is not a good option. It’s not a good option at all.”
The president has been threatening to bomb Iran even though his intelligence agencies recently reaffirmed that there’s no evidence that Tehran is building a nuclear bomb.
Axios reported on Thursday that Iran had proposed the idea of an interim nuclear deal over concerns that an agreement couldn’t be reached within a two-month deadline set by President Trump. The implication is that if a deal isn’t reached in that time, the US will bomb Iran. Responding to the report, Tehran denied that it had offered an interim deal.
According to media reports, Trump declined to back an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities that would have required significant US support in favor of diplomacy. Another report said Israel was considering a “limited attack” on Iran without US support, which could sabotage the negotiations between Washington and Tehran, but a final decision hadn’t been made.
