Iran and the United States held high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday over Tehran’s nuclear program, as a dispute over the agenda, most notably differences over Iran’s formidable missile program, suggested progress would be hard-won, with the threat of another Middle East war looming.

The indirect talks in the Omani capital of Muscat were originally due to begin at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. Israel time), but Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that they were pushed back by about an hour.

The first round of talks appeared to last about an hour and a half, after which a motorcade believed to be carrying American officials left the palace on Muscat’s outskirts where the talks took place. An Iranian convoy had come and gone from the location earlier.

A second round got underway in the afternoon.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry later confirmed on X that it had mediated talks between Iran and the US on Iran’s nuclear program. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi met separately with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, then with US Mideast special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner, who is US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, the Omani Foreign Ministry said.

“The consultations focused on preparing the appropriate circumstances for resuming the diplomatic and technical negotiations by ensuring the importance of these negotiations, in light of the parties’ determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability,” the Omani announcement said.

Iranian media reported that Araghchi also met with Busaidi ahead of the negotiations.

While both Iran and the US have signaled readiness to revive diplomacy, Washington wants the talks to cover Tehran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, support for proxy terror groups around the region and “treatment of their own people,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday. The talks follow a bloody Iranian crackdown on mass anti-regime protests last month.

Iran has said it wanted Araghchi and........

© The Times of Israel