Iran has confirmed there are ongoing indirect negotiations with the United States taking place in Oman, despite the tensions between both countries which don’t have any diplomatic relations.
American news website Axios detailed discussions held “this week” between Tehran and Washington, “exploring ways to prevent an escalation of attacks” in the Middle East.
The Iranian mission to the UN confirmed that these talks were part of an “ongoing process”, according to the official Islamic Republic News agency (Irna), but didn’t divulge specifics about the date or content of the meetings.
However, Irna mentioned these weren’t the first talks and “won’t be the last”.
The US was represented by Brett McGurk, the President’s Middle East advisor, and the envoy to Iran, Abram Paley, Axios stated, with no knowledge of who represented Tehran.
These talks, mediated by officials from Oman, followed just over a month after Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on 13 April with 350 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted with the assistance of the US and several allied countries.
The attack, indicating a potential risk of regional war, was a response to an airstrike on a building in the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, attributed to Israel, which resulted in the death of seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.
