On Friday, the Sultanate of Oman will host crucial talks between the United States and Iran, and these negotiations come at a time when US President Donald Trump threatens military action in a region torn by conflict since October 7, 2023. While Washington wants the talks to include Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its support for armed groups in the region, and the protests of its people, Tehran confirms that it will only discuss the nuclear file.

Published on: 06/02/2026 - 07:06

On Friday, attention turns to the Sultanate of Oman, where the United States and Iran are expected to hold decisive talks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington wants the talks to include Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its support for armed groups in the region, and its "treatment of its people."

Read also: Iran and the United States will hold indirect talks in Oman on Friday

Iran says it will only discuss its nuclear program. The following is an overview of the issues raised:

Nuclear programme

This program became one of the most prominent points of contention and axes of tension, after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported in 2003 that Iran had not complied with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons after it was revealed that it was carrying out secret nuclear work.

This treaty gives Iran the right to a civilian nuclear energy program, but prevents it from using nuclear technology, especially uranium enrichment, to develop weapons. Western powers have used a combination of sanctions and diplomatic efforts in an attempt to curb Iran's program, fearing that Tehran is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, despite its denials of this. In 2015, Western powers along with China and Russia reached an agreement with Iran that strictly restricts its nuclear activities and eases sanctions.

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This was one of the most prominent foreign policy achievements of then US President Barack Obama. However, when President Donald Trump assumed the presidency in his first term, he removed his country from the agreement, which he described as “the worst agreement ever.” Under former President Joe Biden, indirect talks resumed, but without significant progress. Iran has begun enriching uranium to a purity of 60 percent, a level not far from the 90 percent needed to make a bomb.

In 2025, Trump returned to the White House vowing that there would be a “bombing” if Iran did not agree to a nuclear agreement. Several rounds of talks failed to reach an agreement. In June, Israel launched strikes, saying the goal was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The United States joined the campaign on June 22, bombing Iranian nuclear sites before brokering a ceasefire. The status of the facilities damaged in last year's bombing remains unclear.

Ballistic missiles and Israel's fears

Iran has one of the largest stockpiles of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Missiles were fired directly at Israel for the first time in 2024 in response to an Israeli attack on its embassy compound in Damascus, as the conflict expanded in the region after the attacks of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In a war that broke out last year, Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel, killing dozens and putting Israel's multi-layered air defense systems to the test. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on January 30, “Iran’s defense and missile capabilities... and Iran’s missiles... will never be the subject of any negotiations.”

Rubio said Wednesday that serious talks must include "the range of their ballistic missiles." Israel likened the threat of Iran's missiles to its nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in January that Iran's "attempt to develop nuclear weapons" and possess "20,000 ballistic missiles" resembled "two cancerous tumors."

The regional role and “Iran’s agents”

Iran has long exercised its influence in the region by supporting armed groups including Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon. These groups, collectively known as the “Axis of Resistance,” have become a source of great challenge to Israel since the attacks of October 7, 2023.

Israel dealt strong blows to Hezbollah and Hamas in the subsequent rounds of this conflict. Tehran's influence in the region suffered another blow after the overthrow of its ally, Bashar al-Assad, from the presidency of Syria. Despite the weakness of their positions, neither Hamas nor Hezbollah surrendered to the demands to disarm.

Washington also seeks to address the role of Iranian-backed groups in Iraq. Reuters had reported that Washington threatened a number of senior Iraqi politicians to impose sanctions targeting the Iraqi state, including its important oil revenues, if Iranian-backed groups were included in its next government.

Yemen's Houthis, allied with Iran, who fired missiles at ships in the Red Sea and Israel during the Gaza war, still firmly control the most populated areas of Yemen.

Iranian demonstrators

Trump escalated his threats to launch military action against Iran during a wave of protests that broke out in December against the backdrop of economic troubles before turning into widespread demonstrations demanding an end to the rule of the clergy. This was the bloodiest unrest in Iran since the 1979 revolution, in which thousands were killed.

With Iran suppressing the protests and accusing its foreign opponents of fomenting the unrest, Trump warned Tehran against shooting protesters and pledged

"Take strict measures" if Iran executes protesters. He later said that Tehran had canceled mass executions.

France 24/Reuters

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