IRAN’S UN MISSION CONFIRMS INDIRECT US TALKS IN OMAN

Sun 19 May 2024:

Iran’s permanent mission to the UN in New York confirmed reports that Iranian officials held indirect talks with US counterparts in Oman this week.

It described the situation as “an ongoing process”, and said negotiations were not the first and wouldn’t be the last, according to state-run IRNA news website.

According to a Friday Axios report, the Biden administration sent White House Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and acting special envoy on Iran Abram Paley for the first indirect talks held between the two countries since January.

An Israeli government official confirmed the report to The Times of Israel and added that McGurk was also in Saudi Arabia this week.

It was reportedly the first round of indirect talks held in Oman since January and comes a month since the region was on the verge of an all-out war after Iran launched hundreds of projectiles at Israel following Israel’s levelling of Tehran’s consulate in Syria, in which two generals were killed.

Axios reported that McGurk and Paley met with Omani mediators on Tuesday for the indirect talks, although it is unclear who represented the Iranians.

Furthermore, the US conveyed its concerns over the status of the Iranian nuclear program. The Iranians said in April they would review their “nuclear doctrine,” likely referring to Tehran’s ostensible policy that its nuclear program is only meant for peaceful purposes.

Hostilities between the two countries escalated significantly after a top Iranian general was killed in Damascus in the beginning of April, leading to the Iranian attack on Israel, which was largely intercepted.

While the White House declined to comment on the Axios report, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, did say on Monday that Washington is capable of communicating with Tehran when necessary.

Regarding Iran’s nuclear program, Patel said: “The Biden administration continues to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device.”

McGurk and Paley also led the talks held in January, which focused on persuading Iran to curb attacks by the Houthis against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The Iranian delegation at the time was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22