The United States will hold direct talks with Iran on Saturday in Oman to discuss Tehran’s nuclear programme, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting chaired by President Donald Trump, Rubio said the discussions would be led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and a senior Iranian leader. The high-stakes meeting comes amid mounting international concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions and follows months of indirect backchannel communications.
“We hope that’ll lead to peace,” Rubio told reporters. “We’ve been very clear on what Iran is never going to have — a nuclear weapon — and I think that’s what led to this meeting.”
While details of the agenda remain under wraps, Saturday’s meeting marks a significant shift in tone and approach, representing one of the few direct diplomatic engagements between the two countries under the Trump administration’s second term.
Washington has long accused Tehran of advancing a clandestine nuclear weapons programme, an allegation Iran denies, insisting its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes.
The talks in Oman are seen as a possible opening for future de-escalation, though analysts remain cautious about the prospects of a breakthrough given the hard-line stance both sides have maintained in recent years.
As the international community watches closely, Saturday’s meeting may determine the next phase of US-Iran relations in a region already fraught with geopolitical tensions.
Melissa Enoch
Follow us on:
