Envoy: Trump administration "in a hurry" for deal as US-Iran talks set to begin in Oman

The United States is seeking a peaceful resolution and hopes to establish mutual understanding with Iran during upcoming meetings in Oman, according to Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus.

Her remarks came on April 8 in an interview with The National in Abu Dhabi, just hours after both Washington and Tehran confirmed the highly anticipated indirect talks, per Caliber.Az.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that indirect high-level discussions with the US would take place in the Gulf nation on April 12. This followed US President Donald Trump’s earlier statement that “direct” talks were expected.

“President Trump said direct, so I'm going to follow the lead of my president,” Ortagus said. “In terms of expectations […] there hasn't been any formal negotiations ever with the Trump administration […] so I think that this is going to be really important.”

Ortagus emphasized the need for cautious optimism: “I don't want to put the cart before the horse. I think there's a lot of ways to just get together and try to find some common ground, some understanding. There's a lot of distrust between both sides and […] I'm very clear of that.”

She stressed the importance of initiating dialogue: “Let's have some initial meetings and see if there's a way to find common ground to do what the President wants to do, which is to find a peaceful resolution and negotiation to these tough and difficult problems.”

The talks come amid growing consensus among US and regional officials that Iran’s traditional strategy of exerting regional influence through proxy militias—from Hezbollah in Lebanon to groups in Iraq and Yemen—is under significant pressure. Tehran’s allies have suffered setbacks across multiple fronts, and the Islamic Republic itself has absorbed a series of blows, prompting some officials to view this as a rare window to begin unraveling its regional entrenchment.

Backchannel communications and intermediaries in the region suggest that Iran has expressed conditional willingness to negotiate, provided that the talks initially focus narrowly on its nuclear program before expanding to other issues.

Within Iran, there is an ongoing internal debate among analysts and academics about the country’s long-standing regional strategy. Some experts told The National that Iran’s leadership may be reconsidering its support for armed groups, partly due to growing regional fatigue and the financial burden of maintaining these alliances. That conversation has only deepened in the wake of mounting losses among Iran’s proxy forces.

“The last year and a half has been devastating for the Islamic Republic of Iran. […] They've really been exposed. You've seen militia after militia drop,” Ortagus noted.

The planned negotiations are occurring less than 100 days into President Trump’s tenure, aligning with his administration’s broader goal of ending protracted Middle East conflicts. The region is undergoing rapid change, and the nature of engagement is shifting just as swiftly.

Historically, US-Iran talks have taken years to produce any concrete agreements. The previous nuclear deal, which President Trump later withdrew from, was followed by a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to reconsider its posture. But this time, Ortagus indicated, Tehran may have fewer options.

“I think that we're in a hurry, so to speak, this time,” she said. “Our administration is really focused on outcomes and deliverables, and there are a lot of business people in our administration, and we like deals. We know how to get to deals. We're not focused a lot on the process.”

While Iran maintains it is not pursuing nuclear weapons, it has significantly accelerated uranium enrichment, now reaching 60 percent purity, just short of the 90 percent threshold for weaponization. In response to threats from President Trump, Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Tehran would pursue a nuclear weapon if it came under attack.

By Tamilla Hasanova