Witkoff, Kushner said to meet in person with Iran FM Aragchi

Diplomat: At talks with US, Iran refuses to end enrichment; missile capabilities not discussed

US said to want Tehran to show up to next meeting, expected in next few days, with tangible concession on nuclear issue; Israeli official sees deal unlikely

Iran rejected calls by the United States to halt uranium enrichment on its territory during negotiations in Oman on Friday, as efforts to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program resumed.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran told Reuters Friday that while the Islamic Republic would not budge on its right to enrich uranium inside Iran, it was willing to discuss the “level and purity” of enrichment or a regional consortium.

The diplomat added that Tehran believed the US negotiators “seemed to understand Iran’s stance on the enrichment … and they showed flexibility about Tehran’s demands.”

He added that Iran’s missile capabilities were not discussed during the talks in Muscat.

Iranian and US officials told the Axios news site that they expect further talks in the coming days.

US negotiators told their Iranian counterparts that they expect Tehran to come to the next meeting with a tangible and significant concession related to the nuclear file, Channel 12 reported.

The talks included an in-person meeting between US President Donald Trump’s top aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, Channel 12 reported, citing two sources familiar.

The rest of the talks were held indirectly, with Oman mediating.

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Brad Cooper also joined the talks, outraging the Iranian delegation, in a move possibly aimed at intimidating Tehran, Channel 12 reported. The Iranians reportedly likened it to “conducting negotiations with a gun on the table.”

The network indicated the US will likely take additional steps to boost its military presence in the region on Saturday, improving Washington’s posture ahead of a potential strike if the talks fail.

Channel 12 cited an unnamed senior Israeli official who warned Iran against targeting the Jewish state, saying the response to such an attack would be “Operation Rising Lion on steroids,” referring to the name Israel gave to its June 2025 strikes on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which also saw the IDF decimate Tehran’s air defenses.

The network cited another Israeli official who speculated that Friday’s talks between the US and Iran in Oman will not lead to an agreement, as the gaps between the sides are too large.

Multiple rounds of negotiations with Iran were held before Israel launched its 12-day war on Iran. The US also joined the strikes, targeting underground nuclear facilities.

Before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. The UN nuclear watchdog — International Atomic Energy Agency — has said Iran is the only country in the world to enrich to that level that wasn’t armed with the bomb.

Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed in the June war, raising the concerns of nonproliferation experts. Even before that, Iran has restricted IAEA inspections since Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw America from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on the program after earlier sending the carrier to the region over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands of others detained in the Islamic Republic.

Amid the talks, the US has completed the initial phase of its weapons buildup in the region and is expected to complete the second phase in the coming weeks, with all forces in place, Channel 12 reported.

The US Central Command also published new footage of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, which arrived in the region last week.

“The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, accompanied by two military supply ships, and two US Coast Guard cutters, sailed together in the Arabian Sea today as aircraft from Carrier Air Wing 9 flew overhead,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

The aircraft carrier was moved to the Arabian Sea after Trump’s initial threats last month.

While Iran’s foreign minister described a “positive atmosphere” on Friday’s talks, it remains unclear just what terms Iran is willing to negotiate.

However, the Al Jazeera satellite news network reported that diplomats from Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar offered Iran a proposal in which Tehran would halt enrichment for three years, send its highly enriched uranium out of the country, and pledge “not initiate the use of ballistic missiles.”

Russia had signaled it would take the uranium, but Iran has said ending the program or shipping out the uranium were nonstarters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the talks needed to include Tehran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, support for proxy terror groups around the region, and “treatment of their own people.”

“I’m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we’re going to try to find out,” Rubio said.

Gulf Arab nations fear a US attack on Iran could spark a regional war that would drag them in as well.

Iran has vowed a harsh response to any strike and, in addition to threatening Israel, has cautioned neighboring countries that host US bases that they could be in the firing line.

Days before Friday’s talks, US forces shot down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln, and Iran attempted to stop a US-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.