LONDON — Negotiating groups from the USA and Iran are anticipated to fulfill on Friday in Oman, marking a reopening of nuclear talks following weeks of tensions and threats, as leaders in Tehran oversaw a deadly crackdown on widespread protests.
The U.S. facet can be led by President Donald Trump’s Center East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, in response to the White Home.
“The President has clearly been fairly clear in his calls for of the Iranian regime,” Karoline Leavitt stated on Thursday throughout a press briefing. “Zero nuclear functionality is one thing he is been very specific about.”
Iranian state-run media revealed pictures and movies early on Friday of International Minister Abbas Araghchi within the Omani capital, the place he met together with his native counterpart.
“Iran enters diplomacy with open eyes and a gentle reminiscence of the previous 12 months. We interact in good religion and stand agency on our rights,” Araghchi said on social media on Friday.
An Iranian lady walks previous an enormous nationwide flag hanging above retailers, in Tehran on Feb. 6, 2026. Iran’s international minister met together with his Omani counterpart in Muscat on Feb. 6, forward of Oman-mediated talks with the USA on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program.
AFP by way of Getty Photos
The talks, which had been anticipated to start at 10 a.m. native time, adopted weeks of escalating stress between the U.S. and Iran, fueled partly by huge protests which have roiled Iran.
These protests started in Tehran in late December in response to the collapse of the Iranian forex and the worsening of financial situations, after which rapidly took on a political character — with crowds on the streets brazenly calling for regime change.
Iranian authorities responded by launching a brutal crackdown on protests, in response to observers. A minimum of 6,495 protesters, together with a whole bunch of members of the state’s safety forces, have been killed, in response to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist Information Company, an activist group. The group stated it was reviewing hundreds of different instances of potential deaths. ABC Information can not independently confirm these figures.
Iran’s International Minister Abbas Araghchi is welcomed by an Omani official upon his arrival in Muscat, Oman, on this handout picture obtained on Feb. 6, 2026.
Iranian International Ministry/West Asia Information Company by way of Reuters
As these protests escalated in January, Trump voiced concern for the protesters, saying, “I’ve cancelled all conferences with Iranian Officers till the mindless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
Trump later in January stated a “massive Armada” was heading towards the area. He warned Tehran to make a nuclear deal, saying one other U.S. assault can be “far worse” than the U.S. strike on nuclear websites inside Iran in June of final 12 months.
The Iranian international minister responded by saying the nation’s navy had their “their fingers on the set off.”
These tensions needed to some extent begun to thaw by final week, when Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, stated he had instructed Araghchi to pursue “fair and equitable” talks with Washington. The White Home had sought assist from regional allies, who assisted in bringing Iran again to the negotiating desk, in response to each international locations.
Araghchi stated on Friday that any commitments made between the 2 international locations “should be honored,” including, “Equal standing, mutual respect and mutual curiosity should not rhetoric — they’re a should and the pillars of a sturdy settlement.”
Members of the Trump administration final held a series of nuclear talks with Iran in April and Could 2025 in Oman. A spherical of those talks deliberate for June was scuttled after Israel launched aerial strikes on Iran, an assault that the U.S. later joined.
This handout picture from by Omani Ministry of International Affairs launched on Feb. 6, 2026, reveals Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi (L), shaking arms with Oman International Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, in Muscat on Feb. 6, 2026.
Omani Ministry of International Affairs by way of AFP by way of Getty Photos
Senior U.S. officers have continued publicly voicing issues in regards to the Iranian leadership within the days for the reason that newest spherical of talks had been introduced.
“The Iranian regime doesn’t mirror the folks of Iran, nor their tradition rooted inside a deep historical past,” Rubio said on Thursday. “I do know of no different nation the place there’s an even bigger distinction between the individuals who lead the nation and the individuals who dwell there.”
The digital U.S. Embassy in Iran posted on Thursday a security alert once more calling for all U.S. residents to depart Iran, offered it’s protected for them to take action.
“In case you can not go away, discover a safe location inside your residence or one other protected constructing,” the alert stated.
Leavitt on Thursday stated Trump was looking for a cope with Iran, however, she added, “I might remind the Iranian regime that the President has many choices at his disposal, other than diplomacy, because the commander in chief of essentially the most highly effective navy within the historical past of the world.”
