Iran desires talks with the US to stabilise earlier than inviting regional nations to affix, as Trump sends combined messages.
Tehran, Iran – In Tehran, the query is not whether or not diplomacy is below manner, however whether or not it might probably transfer quick sufficient to remain forward of escalation.
An Iranian official informed Al Jazeera that Oman has been confirmed because the venue for the subsequent spherical of Iran-United States talks, scheduled later this week.
However the official confirmed that different regional nations wouldn’t be concerned in talks in the intervening time, regardless of proposals to additionally embrace them within the negotiations.
Iran’s reluctance to contain regional international locations in talks for now stems not from a need to be exclusionary, however a fear that extra gamers within the room may “danger turning the method right into a political show as an alternative of a centered negotiation”, the official mentioned.
As a substitute, Iran desires the talks format with the US to stabilise first, the official added.
Regional mediators concerned within the course of have a distinct view: They see their function not as facilitators of talks at this stage, however as potential guarantors of any future settlement. These are, in spite of everything, international locations whose personal stability is instantly affected by the disaster between the US and Iran.
This marks a transparent break from the 2015 nuclear settlement, which was constructed round a transactional arms management logic. In 2026, the tensions are totally of a navy nature. Regional actors are not peripheral observers. They’ve a direct strategic curiosity in containment, de-escalation, and stopping a spillover.
The timing displays that shift. Over the previous few days, Iran and regional nations have intensified their diplomacy. Ali Larijani, the pinnacle of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council, travelled to Moscow on June 30 for a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi held consultations in Istanbul final Friday.
Constructing on these conferences, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani visited Tehran over the weekend. Shortly afterwards, Larijani publicly acknowledged {that a} structured negotiating framework was starting to take form.
Based on a number of sources, what’s now being ready just isn’t a partial or interim association, however a roadmap towardsa complete settlement.
Washington, nevertheless, is preserving ambiguity in play. US President Donald Trump informed Fox Information this week: “Iran is speaking to us, and we’ll see whether or not we will do one thing, in any other case we’ll see what occurs.” The message mixed diplomatic engagement with strain, preserving uncertainty as leverage.
Does this imply the danger of battle has disappeared? No. But it surely has receded – if just for the second.
Even confidence-building measures, reminiscent of transferring or downblending Iran’s stockpile of extremely enriched uranium, don’t resolve the core disputes. Main points stay unresolved, most notably Iran’s ballistic missile programme and the broader query of its regional deterrence.
That is the place the actual negotiation lies. The US not seems desirous about a deal that merely manages danger. Iran, for its half, doesn’t need an settlement tied to a single presidency or susceptible to reversal. What either side at the moment are probing is whether or not structural concessions will be exchanged for structural ensures. All the things else – codecs, venues, participation – is secondary.
For now, diplomacy is shifting, battle is deferred, and the window stays open. Whether or not it stays that manner will rely on whether or not substance follows construction.
