Iran and US set to hold nuclear talks: What you need to know
Officials have shed some light on what they hope to achieve ahead of critical Iran-US talks on the future of Tehran’s nuclear programme.
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Iran is seeking a “real and fair” nuclear agreement with the United States, ahead of talks between the two countries in Oman, a senior adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday.
US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that Washington and Tehran were poised to begin direct talks in Oman on Saturday over Iran’s nuclear program, warning that the Islamic Republic would be in “great danger” if the talks were unsuccessful.
“Iran’s foreign minister will go to Oman with full authority for indirect negotiations with America. Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement,” Ali Shamkhani said on X.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson also took to X to say that Iran was giving talks with its arch-foe this weekend “a genuine chance”.
It comes after a second US aircraft carrier reached the Middle East, where Washington’s forces were carrying out near-daily air strikes against Yemen’s Huthi rebels, the US military said.
The USS Carl Vinson - which is armed with F-35C stealth warplanes - is now working alongside the USS Harry S. Truman in the region, US Central Command said in a post on X on Thursday that featured side-by-side video clips of aircraft taking off from the two ships.
The Pentagon announced last week that it was increasing the number of American carriers in the Middle East to two, after launching the latest round of its air campaign against the Iran-backed Huthis in March in a bid to end the threat they pose to civilian shipping and military vessels in the region.
A US defense official told AFP on Wednesday that the United States had struck more than 100 targets - including command-and-control facilities and weapons manufacturing and storage sites - in Huthi-controlled areas of Yemen since March 15.
Despite the strikes, the Huthis - who control large swathes of Yemen and have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the internationally recognised government since 2015 - have continued to claim attacks against both US vessels and Israel.
The rebels began targeting shipping in late 2023, claiming solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by a military campaign launched by Israel after a shock Hamas attack in October of that year.
Aircraft Carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) with its air wing consisting of F-35C Lightning IIs works alongside the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/c2p4yxmBpj
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 10, 2025
Huthi attacks have prevented ships from passing through the Suez Canal - a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of the world’s shipping traffic - forcing many companies into a costly detour around the tip of southern Africa.
The United States first began conducting strikes against the Huthis under the Biden administration, and President Donald Trump vowed last week that military action against the rebels would continue until they are no longer a threat to shipping.
It comes as say they are not anticipating miraculous breakthroughs when the US and Iran meet this Saturday to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program.
And with both sides seemingly in disagreement over the nature of the talks themselves, much remains unclear.
But here’s what we do know.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
The US and Iran are set to hold talks this Saturday, hosted by Oman.
Iran’s nuclear ambitions have long worried western nations and some of its regional neighbours, particularly Israel.
The Islamic Republic currently has a small nuclear energy program, but it is Tehran’s growing capacity to develop its own nuclear weapons that has the USA concerned.
In 2015, when Barack Obama was in the White House, the US and Iran signed the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] which limited the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
That agreement was also signed by the UK, France, Germany, China and Russia.
In accordance with the agreement, Iran’s nuclear activities are limited and there are “regular investigators” visiting the republic’s nuclear sites to ensure Tehran is not developing a nuclear bomb.
The deal is set to expire in October – ten years after it was signed.
WHY ARE THE TALKS SO IMPORTANT?
American President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday – during a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – that if a deal was not made, Iran would be in “great danger”.
Mr Netanyahu said Israel and the US were “both united in the goal that Iran does not ever get nuclear weapons”.
Dr Alam Saleh, a senior lecturer in the Australian National University’s School of Politics and International Relations (Iran and The Middle East), described Iran as a “threshold nuclear state … meaning [it] is very close to making (a nuclear bomb)”.
“If all parties are happy with Iran, the sanctions will be removed forever,” Dr Saleh said.
WHY DOES THE US WANT IRAN TO GIVE UP ITS NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM?
“Historically, the United States has been in charge of the balance of power in the Middle East for many decades,” Dr Saley said. “With Iran becoming a nuclear power, such balance of power will change forever. Therefore, the United States does not want a nuclear power with a powerful ideological background to be a nuclear power in the Middle East. Most of the energy security depends on the Middle East’s oil and gas. It’s very strategically located. It’s very close to Europe.”
WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF IRAN DOES NOT COMPLY?
The US is using “coercive diplomacy” on Iran, Dr Saleh said.
“That means using coercive threats as well as suggesting diplomacy. If Iran doesn’t comply, then the only alternative option is to use force,” he said.
Mr Trump suggested as much in a recent letter to Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khomanei.
“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing,’” Mr Trump told reporters last week.
WHY DOES IRAN WANT TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE US?
In an op-ed published by the Washington Post this week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, said his country was ready to “seal a deal” and “open a window toward diplomacy.”
“The ball is now in America’s court. If it seeks a genuine diplomatic resolution, we have already shown the way,” Mr Araghchi wrote.
A priority for Iran is lifting the sanctions that have plummeted the value of the rial, led to high unemployment and inflation. As a result, most of the country is impoverished.
HOW ARE THE TWO SIDES DISAGREEING ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE TALKS?
The US is saying these talks on Saturday are “direct negations” but Iran is saying they are “indirect”.
“Direct means both Iranian diplomats and the American diplomats sit in one room, face-to-face and discuss their needs and their requirements,” Dr Saleh said.
Indirect simply means they might be staying in two different hotels, and there will be a mediator in this case that will be diplomats from Oman to kind of exchange messages between the two sides at the same time in the same place.”
WHAT IS IRAN’S NUCLEAR HISTORY?
While Iran’s nuclear program started in 1957, concern about their activities ramped up in the 1990s, when Tehran “started clandestine activities to enhance … their capability to enrich uranium,” Dr Saleh said.
In 2002, western intelligence officers realised Iran was secretly attempting to enhance their nuclear technology.
ISRAEL DOES NOT WANT IRAN TO HAVE A NUCLEAR PROGRAM. WHY?
Israel has its own nuclear weapons but views Iran as an threat.
Last year, Israel reportedly hit an Iranian nuclear site in retaliation for a missile attack.
The tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Iran is allied with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Dr Saleh described Israel as “very vulnerable in terms of security”.
“It’s very close to Iran. It’s surrounded by its enemies, mainly supported by Iran, and as a result, a nuclear Iran would be an existential threat to Israel.”
WHAT ARE THE ISSUES BETWEEN IRAN AND THE US?
“One of the main issues with Iran and the United States is that they don’t trust each other, and both sides have good reasons not to trust each other,” Dr Saleh said.
“Historically, they have a very complicated relationship since the early 1950s. What they need to do at this stage is to build up a trust.”
Mr Araghchi said in order to move forward, both countries needed to agree that there can be no “military option” nor a “military solution”.
“Mark my words: Iran prefers diplomacy, but it knows how to defend itself,” Mr Araghchi wrote.
Experts note how important it is for the US and Iran to reach a deal.
“They need to consider each other’s concerns, worries and priorities in order to achieve a rational kind of result that would be good for both and would be good for the region”, Dr Saleh said.
“Any kind of war in the region will be a catastrophic war.”
- with AFP
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