Haaretz
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, presented Iran with a draft agreement that fell short of demanding that Tehran dismantle its nuclear program during talks in Oman on Saturday.
According to the source quoted by the U.K.-based site Amwaj News, Witkoff did not threaten that military action would ensue if negotiations fell through.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reported that Iran had asked the U.S. for sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
Amwaj quoted another source saying that talks between the U.S. and Iranian negotiation teams are expected to resume on April 19. The source said the next round of talks would occur somewhere in Europe, rather than Oman. A correspondent for France24 reported that the upcoming round of talks may take place in Vienna and that an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman had said Oman would continue mediating, even if the talks are held elsewhere.
The Iranian source quoted by Amwaj said that Iran had rejected a proposal to dismantle its nuclear program.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi used his Telegram account to describe the atmosphere of the talks in Oman as ‘productive and positive.’ Araghchi told Iranian state media that both sides aim to reach an agreement in the very near term. The White House also characterized the discussions as ‘constructive,’ noting that Witkoff emphasized to Araghchi that Trump seeks a diplomatic resolution to disputes between the two countries.
In an interview published Saturday in The Wall Street Journal, Witkoff said the U.S. would not accept Iran arming itself with nuclear weapons but indicated that there was room for compromise. ‘I think our position begins with dismantlement of your [nuclear] program,’ he said in the interview. ‘That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries. Where our red line will be that there can’t be weaponization of your nuclear capability.’
The New York Times reported on Friday that senior Iranian officials had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and pressured him to agree to nuclear talks with the United States, despite his objections. These senior figures warned Khamenei that a war with the U.S., combined with Iran’s worsening economic crisis, could destabilize and potentially overthrow the Islamic Republic. They urged him to negotiate with Washington, even directly if necessary.