The White House officially confirmed that the US-Iranian negotiations will be held on Friday in the Sultanate of Oman, coinciding with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi’s announcement that talks on the Iranian nuclear program are still taking place at the same date and place.
Araqchi stated in his post on the “X” platform on Wednesday: “Nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled in Muscat on Friday at approximately 10 am,” expressing his thanks to the Sultanate of Oman “for making all the necessary arrangements.”
This confirmation comes after American reports indicated on Wednesday evening that the United States rejected Iran’s demands to change the location and format of the talks, which was reported by sources to the Israeli website Axios and Channel 12. The sources stated that this dispute almost led to the cancellation of the meeting, before an agreement was reached to hold it in Oman, after the intervention of a number of Middle Eastern leaders.
Before that, two high-ranking American officials stated that the talks faced difficulties after Iran backed away from previous agreements regarding the location and content of the meeting, stressing that Washington did not agree to transfer the talks or amend the original agreed-upon formula. One of them added: “We told them: Either this or nothing, and they said: Well, then nothing,” indicating a faltering understanding, while the British Broadcasting Corporation was unable to confirm the accuracy of this information.
Before Araqchi’s announcement, US President Donald Trump said in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday that the Iranian Supreme Leader “should be very concerned.”
In a related context, Israeli Channel 12 reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff, in addition to the US President’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, are expected to go to Qatar on Thursday to hold talks with the Qatari prime minister about the Iranian file, with the delegation returning to Miami without completing the trip to Oman.
The two American officials had indicated that Washington may be ready to hold the meeting later this week or next week, if Iran reconsiders the format of the talks.
