Iran–US nuclear talks resume amid mistrust and rising tension

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The fourth round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the US are set to began on Sunday in Muscat, Oman, amid tension and mutual mistrust between the two sides.

Iranian Foreign Minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff, in talks that were postponed from earlier this month, due to what both sides described as “technical and logistical reasons”.

This round is widely seen as critical, coming just two days before US President Donald Trump begins a regional tour that includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. It also follows Araghchi’s own diplomatic visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday.

Unlike previous sessions, the atmosphere surrounding this round is charged with pessimism, fuelled by escalatory rhetoric and hardline US demands.

On Tuesday, Trump declared that the aim of the negotiations is the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, while Witkoff told far-right US news network Breitbart on Friday that the US wants Iran to cease all domestic uranium enrichment, dismantle enrichment facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, and remove all operational centrifuges.

Speaking in Doha on Saturday at the Fourth Arab-Iranian Dialogue Conference, Araghchi responded: “If the goal of the negotiations is to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, then that goal is already achieved, and therefore an agreement is within reach.

“But if the goal is to deprive Iran of its rights and to present unrealistic and illogical demands, then I declare frankly that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not relinquish any of its people’s rights.”

He stressed that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, saying, “Such weapons have no place in Iran’s security doctrine.” Araghchi also highlighted what he described as “double standards” in the West’s treatment of Israel’s nuclear arsenal.

Former Iranian diplomat Abdolreza Farajirad told The New Arab’s Arabic sister outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Americans have unexpectedly decided not to send their technical delegation to Muscat, adding that this was troubling.

“Given the American rejection of uranium enrichment within Iran, there is no significance in sending a technical delegation to the negotiations,” he said.

He warned the talks may be headed toward “an uncertain fate”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, however, confirmed that Iranian technical experts are part of the delegation and will participate in the negotiations.

Iranian-American relations expert Hadi Khosrowshahi noted that the same pressures that brought both sides to the table – such as Israeli threats to Iran, regional instability, and the looming expiration of the nuclear deal’s dispute resolution mechanism in October – still apply.

He said failure to reach an agreement would harm both parties. “I do not rule out a return to negotiations after the fourth round, with a revised agenda aimed at reaching an interim agreement,” he added.

An unnamed Iranian official also criticised Witkoff’s remarks, saying they confirmed Iran’s “longstanding mistrust of the United States”, and accused the American side of being under the influence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US
neoconservatives.