US, Iran Delegations In Muscat For Crucial Nuclear Talks After Deadly Protest Crackdown

Last Updated:February 06, 2026, 07:09 IST

Steve Witkoff and Abbas Araqchi arrived in Muscat for US-Iran nuclear talks amid tensions over missiles and protests.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Muscat on Thursday as delegations from both sides prepared for face-to-face nuclear talks scheduled for Friday.

While Araqchi had arrived in Muscat earlier, multiple media reports, including the Tehran Times and the Jerusalem Post, reported Witkoff had also reached there.

Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said Iran would engage “with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue," and he urged Washington to participate “with responsibility, realism and seriousness."

The talks are happening against a backdrop of deep disagreement over their scope.

While Washington has insisted the agenda include Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and support for regional proxy groups, Tehran has repeatedly insisted the discussions be confined to its nuclear activities.

Reuters noted the two sides “remain at odds" over those parameters.

The diplomatic meeting was confirmed only late on Wednesday after uncertainty over location and format, and that the meeting would be the first direct encounter between senior US and Iranian officials since the United States joined Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE US-IRAN TALKS

The talks come after a period of military action and domestic unrest in Iran.

Washington has moved significant naval assets to the region, and US officials have signalled that they hope to discuss issues beyond enrichment, including missiles and Iran’s regional activities.

Diplomatic channels have previously been mediated by Oman and recalled the long arc of US-Iran relations since 1979.

OMAN MEDIATED PREVIOUS TALKS

Oman’s role as a discreet intermediary between Tehran and Washington was underlined in the past rounds of talks between Araghchi and US envoys.

Both indirect and occasional face-to-face sessions have often been hosted in Muscat, and the Gulf sultanate has been described repeatedly as a trusted venue for sensitive diplomacy between the two adversaries.

THE 12-DAY WAR AND NATIONWIDE PROTESTS

The Muscat meeting also comes in the shadow of the 12-day war in June and the subsequent domestic unrest in Iran.

That sequence of events, military strikes on nuclear sites followed by a nationwide protest movement and a heavy security crackdown, has sharpened international concerns and complicated the political environment in which negotiators now meet.

IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME WORRIES THE WEST

Multiple media reports have cited Atomic Energy Agency data and public Western concerns that Iran’s enrichment activity has accelerated, with Tehran enriching uranium to levels that Western states say shorten a potential pathway to weaponisation.

Iran, for its part, continues to assert the peaceful nature of its programme while simultaneously resisting US demands that extend beyond nuclear issues.

As delegations prepared to sit down in Muscat, US and Iranian officials framed the encounter differently.

Tehran presented the talks as a diplomatic duty to protect national interests and preserve regional stability, while US public statements continued to stress that all options remain on the table.

News world US, Iran Delegations In Muscat For Crucial Nuclear Talks After Deadly Protest Crackdown

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