As indirect talks between the United States and Iran are set to resume, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Oman on Sunday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday ahead of the talks, Qatar-based newspaper The New Arab reported, citing Iranian sources.
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Steve Witkoff; Abbas Araghchi
(Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/Pool, Amer HILABI/AFP, CameraObscura82/Shutterstock, Smolkov Vladislav/Shutterstock)
Araghchi is reportedly set to meet Saudi officials to discuss recent developments in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, “in light of ongoing Israeli strikes.” He is also expected to brief them on the progress of negotiations with Washington. In Qatar, Araghchi will participate in the fourth session of the Arab-Iranian Dialogue Conference.
Earlier this week, Araghchi approached Witkoff with a request to conduct direct negotiations with the U.S. over Iran’s nuclear program, citing Tehran’s disappointment with Oman’s mediation efforts. Following that, the Iranian foreign minister confirmed an agreement to proceed with a new round of indirect talks starting Sunday, with Oman determining the location and timing.
“The talks are gradually entering a phase of detail,” Araghchi said. “As we progress, more discussions will be needed. Our positions are firm, but we are receiving mixed signals from the other side.”
Speaking to Breitbart News on Friday evening, Witkoff emphasized the administration’s stance. "I believe in [Trump's] policy of attempting to settle the Iranian conflict through dialogue. First of all, that’s a more permanent solution to that crisis than any other alternative. That would physically change exactly how Iran was approaching a nuclear program," he said.
"If we get them to voluntarily shift away from an enrichment program where they can enrich, to not have centrifuges, to not have material that can be enriched to weapons-grade levels at 90 percent, if we can get them to voluntarily do that, that is the most permanent way to make sure that they never get a weapon. So his prescription for the solution there is the best prescription, so hopefully that is something they want to do, because as he says, the alternative is not a great alternative for them.”
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Despite signs of progress, the Daily Telegraph reported that a foiled plot to bomb the Israeli embassy in London may have been a deliberate attempt by senior Iranian officials to sabotage the nuclear talks. According to the report, a hardline faction within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) authorized the operation, which was thwarted by British security forces in a dramatic raid resulting in eight arrests, seven of them Iranian nationals.
British authorities bust Iran-linked terror cell plotting to attack Israeli embassy in London
(Video: via X)
Though Iran officially denied involvement and suggested the plot was a “false flag” operation meant to discredit the regime, a source inside Iran told the Telegraph that an internal investigation had been launched to determine whether the attack received internal approval. “Not everyone in the Sepah [IRGC] is happy with the talks with the Americans,” the source said.
Another Iranian source told the newspaper the plot had not been discussed at the leadership level. "There are many others who could have plotted it without informing senior commanders. The investigation will clarify the facts,” he said, adding that an attack on the embassy, and the international outrage it could have provoked, might have forced the U.S. to pull out of the negotiations.
“They could have targeted Israeli assets anywhere in the region, but they chose London, the heart of Europe, because that’s the only way to disrupt the [nuclear] negotiations. We are almost certain that whoever did it was motivated by the progress being made in the talks,” the source said.