Amwaj:

Iran and the United States are set to meet for “indirect” talks in Oman on Apr. 12,  the first such engagement since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. While Iranian officials dispute President Trump’s characterization of the upcoming session as “direct” diplomacy, informed sources in Iran agree with the US that it will be “high-level.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will lead the respective delegations, Amwaj.media has learned, with no indication of how long the talks may stretch out.

Although Iran continues to insist that the engagement will be “indirect,” some political insiders in Tehran privately suggest that the door may be open to direct talks—contingent upon how things may develop in Muscat. The makeup of the delegations also highlights that the Islamic Republic has tasked the foreign ministry as the entity in charge of leading negotiations with the United States.

New face making waves

Coming from a business rather than diplomatic background, Witkoff has in recent weeks made headlines with displays of a seemingly straightforward preference to engage with Iran. Last week, he ended up in hot water after writing “Great” in response to a tweet by Araghchi emphasizing that Iran has stuck by its commitment under the 2015 nuclear deal to never develop atomic weapons, even as Trump unilaterally walked away from the accord in 2018. Amid heavy fire from voices opposed to diplomacy with Iran, Witkoff deleted his tweet shortly afterwards.

Witkoff also made waves in Tehran on Mar. 21, when he suggested in an interview with conservative journalist and host Tucker Carlson that the US would be open to more stringent supervision of Iran’s nuclear program as opposed to its full dismantling. Experts say the latter is a non-starter for the Islamic Republic, particularly given the experiences of other nations which have agreed to give up their nuclear capabilities—including Libya.

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