Talks without trust: The limits of US-Iran nuclear engagement

On April 12, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the US Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, met in Muscat, hosted by the Omani Foreign Minister, to outline a plan for negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear programme.

- PARTH SETH

Although their respective interactions with Omani mediators lasted over two hours, they met face-to-face briefly in what marked the highest-level meeting between Iran and the US since 2018.

This meeting occurred as Iran approached the mid-May deadline that Trump claimed to have established to bring Iran's nuclear programme to the negotiating table, warning of "great danger" if they failed to do so, in a letter delivered to the Iranian regime by Anwar Mohammad Gargash, a close aide to the UAE's President.

The Trump Administration has not ruled out military action as a policy option, though it remains a red line for the Iranian regime.

This and several other disagreements between the two regimes make the opportunity for a negotiated, peaceful settlement increasingly narrow.

The US and Iran will hold their next round of talks on Saturday, although the terms and procedural modalities remain unclear. Different narratives have emerged from the United States and Iran, with uncertainty about whether the engagement is happening through direct dialogue or mediated channels.

The location of the anticipated meeting on Saturday presents another point of contention, with ambiguous reports of European capitals hosting the delegates, while Iran remains committed to Oman facilitating mediation.

The significance of this move in amicably settling one of the most polarising issues in the region, against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza War and the breakdown of Iran's Axis of Resistance, cannot be overstated.

The Middle East has been a theatre of proxy warfare between Iran, acting through its proxies in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen, and US allies in the region.