Feb 5, 2026, 7:22 p.mFeb 5, 2026, 7:43 p.m
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. (Archive image, January 2026)Image: keystone
The USA wants to start new negotiations with Iran this Friday in the Gulf state of Oman. This was confirmed by a high-ranking US government official to the German Press Agency. For the United States, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will take part in the talks.
Until recently, there had been no official confirmation of US participation in the negotiations announced by Iran. The agenda remains unclear. According to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iran wants to limit itself to the Iranian nuclear program and a possible easing of sanctions. The USA, on the other hand, is insisting that Iran’s missile program and support for Iran’s allies such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen should also be issues.
On Wednesday, Araghchi had already announced the nuclear talks for Friday at 10 a.m. (local time) in the Omani capital Muscat. Shortly before, there had been media speculation that the format had been canceled.
Diplomacy instead of attacks?
A few weeks ago, Trump declared that both countries wanted to talk to each other again. The Republican had previously threatened the Iranian leadership with attacks after the Iranian security apparatus took brutal action against mass protests.
On Wednesday, Trump sent words of warning to the country’s supreme leader. When asked whether Ayatollah Ali Khamenei should be concerned at the moment, Trump replied to NBC News: “I would say he should be very concerned.” Trump did not directly give a specific reason for this. But he referred to negotiations between both countries. If Iran tried to rebuild its nuclear program, the US president threatened to do “bad things” to the country’s leadership.
Many Iranians who demonstrated against the Islamic Republic’s authoritarian system of rule at the beginning of January are critical of new negotiations. They are calling for a change of power and fear that new talks will now strengthen the government in Tehran’s back. Thousands of demonstrators are said to have been killed on the nights of January 8th and 9th.
Vance believes diplomacy with Iran is difficult
It is unclear whether the diplomatic path will be successful – US Vice President JD Vance considers diplomacy with Iran to be extremely difficult. The reason for this is that Ayatollah Khamenei makes all strategic decisions, but does not speak directly to the USA. “It’s bizarre that we can’t just talk to the actual leadership of a country. “That makes diplomacy much more difficult,” said Vance on the “Megyn Kelly Show.”
Vance continued: “Frankly, I think it is extremely difficult to conduct diplomacy with them. The person who makes the decisions in Iran is the Supreme Leader. The president, it is said, has little influence and does not play a decisive role. The Secretary of State appears to be speaking to the Supreme Leader, and that is essentially the person we have been communicating with.” That makes everything much more complicated and the entire situation much more absurd. (sda/dpa)