US-Iran talks in Oman: Trump insists Iran must dismantle nuclear program

US President Donald Trump has once again made clear that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons, emphasizing his desire for the country to be prosperous and peaceful.

"They cannot have nuclear weapons. I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon," speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on April 11, Trump reiterated, Caliber.Az reports, referring to US media.

The comments come ahead of crucial talks scheduled for this Saturday in Oman, where senior officials from both the US and Iran will discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear program. The US delegation will be led by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Whitkoff, while the Iranian side will be headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The meeting, to take place in the Gulf nation of Oman, may mark the first direct talks between US and Iranian officials in a decade. However, Iran has stated that the talks will be indirect, with mediators facilitating communication between the two nations.

In recent months, tensions have escalated over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump has set a two-month deadline for Iran to accept a deal that would either reduce or completely dismantle its nuclear capabilities. The talks come at a time when Iran’s regional power has been significantly undermined by Israeli strikes on its proxies and internal upheaval.

Trump has warned that military action could be on the table if a nuclear deal isn’t reached, although he stressed that Israel would take the lead in any such action. "If it requires military, we’re going to have military," he stated on April 9. "Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that."

Despite these threats, Iran has made it clear it will not negotiate under pressure. The country has laid out several conditions for the talks, including rejecting what it calls "threatening" language and "excessive demands" regarding its nuclear and defense programs, which include Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities.

The outcome of the upcoming discussions remains uncertain, but Trump has made it clear he seeks a stronger deal than the 2015 nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which he withdrew from in 2018. The original deal aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but Trump deemed it a "disastrous" agreement and criticized it for enabling Iran to fund terrorism.

The Trump administration has signaled that it may demand more stringent conditions, possibly pushing for the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including civilian energy components that Iran is entitled to under the United Nations nuclear treaty. Iranian officials, however, have firmly rejected such proposals, accusing the US of using them as a means to destabilize and eventually topple the Islamic Republic.

By Tamilla Hasanova