Media: Europe, Türkiye, Oman step up for potential US-Iran negotiations

Several European nations, along with Türkiye and Oman, have expressed readiness to host renewed negotiations between the US and Iran if diplomatic efforts resume.

The sources revealed that Türkiye and Oman, together with European countries including Italy and Norway, are open to facilitating either direct or indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, should Iran choose to re-engage in dialogue, Caliber.Az reports via CBS News.

However, officials in the Middle East report that the ongoing Israeli military strikes against Iranian targets have complicated communication channels with Iranian authorities, making diplomatic engagement more challenging.

An unnamed US official said that for two weeks, Iran had avoided giving a clear response to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposals to resolve the nuclear issue. This led the US administration to question whether Tehran was simply stalling and how sincerely it intended to negotiate. 

At the same time, diplomatic sources explained to the network that Iranian authorities may have been concerned about the level of coordination between the US and Israel, suspecting that Washington’s diplomatic efforts were possibly just a pretext to justify subsequent Israeli military action. Meanwhile, several US and foreign diplomats clarified that President Donald Trump did not give explicit approval to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for strikes against Iran. 

Additionally, a senior US intelligence official and a Pentagon representative said that Iran has already prepared missiles and equipment to target American bases in the region should the US join Israel’s military campaign. The previous evening, an unnamed US official stated that Trump is genuinely interested in diplomacy and does not want the United States drawn into a Middle East conflict, as the president remains uncertain about the potential consequences of a possible regime change in Iran. 

US and European diplomats have confirmed that behind closed doors, discussions are underway about who might lead Iran in the future, how to ensure the security of the country’s nuclear facilities and materials, and what the potential health and environmental consequences would be if strikes were carried out on Iran’s nuclear sites.

By Naila Huseynova