April 12, 2025e-Paper
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April 12, 2025e-Paper
Updated – April 12, 2025 03:44 pm IST
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi provided Iran’s “stance and key points for the talks to be conveyed to the U.S. side” to Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. File | Photo Credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday (April 10, 2025) that the United States will hold direct talks with Iran this weekend to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Iranian leader are scheduled for Saturday (April 12, 2025) in Oman. “We hope that’ll lead to peace. We’ve been very clear that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think that’s what led to this meeting,” Mr. Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump.
Also Read | Iran says giving diplomacy ‘genuine chance’ in Oman talks with U.S.
Mr. Trump on Monday (April 7, 2025) made a surprise announcement that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran’s nuclear program on Saturday (April 12, 2025), warning that Iran would be in “great danger” if the talks were unsuccessful.
Also Read | Tracing Iran-U.S. nuclear saga: A history of strained negotiations
The announcement caused some confusion because Iran had said the talks would be indirect, with the Omanis acting as mediators. A U.S. official familiar with the planning said the two delegations would be in the same room for the talks.
Envoys from Iran and the United States arrived Saturday (April 12, 2025) in Oman ahead of the first talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Flight-tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed a private jet from Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, arrived in Oman on Saturday (April 12, 2025) morning. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff had just met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (April 11, 2025).
No overall agreement is immediately likely, but the stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for these two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Mr. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached.
Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
– AP
Even before the talks, however, there was a dispute over just how the negotiations would go. U.S. President Donald Trump insists they’ll be direct negotiations. However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he’d be speaking indirectly through a mediator to U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
The difference may seem small, but it matters. Indirect talks have made no progress since Mr. Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
Mr. Trump has imposed new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign targeting the country. He has again suggested military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasising he still believed a new deal could be reached by writing a letter to Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Mr. Khamenei has warned Iran would respond to any attack with an attack of its own.
– AP
The United States and Iran begin high-stakes talks on Tehran’s nuclear program on Saturday (April 12, 2025), with President Donald Trump threatening military action should they fail to produce a new deal.
They will be the highest-level discussions between the foes since an international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme crumbled after Trump pulled out in 2018 during his first term in office.
Mr. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are set to lead the discussions behind closed doors in Muscat, the capital of Oman, which has long played a mediating role between Iran and Western countries.
– AFP
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives in Oman for talks with U.S. officials on its nuclear programme. He met with Omani officials on Saturday (April 12, 2025), Iranian state TV reported.
Mr. Araghchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff are scheduled to hold the high-stakes talks behind closed doors in Muscat, the capital of Oman, a Gulf country mediating the negotiations.
– AFP
Iran’s negotiating team left Tehran Saturday (April 12, 2025) morning for Oman ahead of rare talks with its long-time foe, the United States, state media reported.
“The Iranian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left for Muscat, the venue for Iran-U.S. talks,” the official IRNA news agency said.
– AFP
Iran and the United States will hold high-level talks in Oman on Saturday (April 12, 2025) aimed at jump-starting negotiations over Tehran’s fast-advancing nuclear program, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.
Iran is approaching the talks warily, sceptical that they could lead to a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its nuclear programme.
While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades and have not agreed on whether the talks will be face-to-face, as Trump demands, or indirect, as Iran wants.
Signs of movement could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.
– Reuters
Iran said Friday (April 11, 2025) it seeks a “real and fair” agreement on its nuclear programme, as the United States signalled a willingness to compromise ahead of high-stakes weekend talks – while insisting that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
The longtime adversaries are set to meet on Saturday (April 12, 2025) in Oman, weeks after a letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by U.S. President Donald Trump, who sought diplomacy but warned of possible military action if Iran refuses.
“Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready,” Mr. Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani posted on X.
He confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was heading to Oman “with full authority for indirect negotiations with America”, adding that if Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be “smooth”.
– AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump surprised the world on Monday (April 7, 2025) by announcing that Washington and Tehran would begin talks in Oman, which has mediated between the West and Tehran before. The longtime adversaries are set to hold talks in Muscat on Saturday (April 12, 2025) to reach a potential nuclear deal.
Regardless of the format, the talks represent a milestone in the fraught relations between the two nations over Iran’s program, which is enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels.
Here’s a timeline of the tensions between the two countries over Iran’s atomic program.
Iran said Friday (April 11, 2025) it was giving diplomacy a “genuine” chance in surprise nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, despite mounting pressure from Washington.
Longtime adversaries Iran and the United States are set to hold talks on Saturday (April 12, 2025) in Muscat, aimed at reaching a potential nuclear deal. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (April 7, 2025) made a shocking announcement that his administration would open negotiations with Iran.
President Donald Trump wants Iran to know that there will be “all hell to pay” if it does not abandon its nuclear program, his press secretary told reporters on Friday (April 11, 2025) ahead of talks on Saturday (April 12, 2025) between U.S. and Iranian delegations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr. Trump’s “ultimate objective is to ensure that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon” and that Mr. Trump believes in diplomacy, but that “all options are on the table” if diplomatic efforts fail.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday (April 10, 2025) that the United States will hold direct talks with Iran this weekend to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
The talks between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Iranian leader are scheduled for Saturday in Oman.
“We hope that’ll lead to peace. We’ve been very clear that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think that’s what led to this meeting,” Mr. Rubio said during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump.
Read the whole story here
Published – April 12, 2025
Live news / USA / Iran / nuclear policy / nuclear power / nuclear weapons
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