A senior U.S. State Department official, who requested anonymity, told Alhurra that the Muscat talks were not originally designed to produce an agreement.
“What happened was a test of intentions,” the official said. “We wanted to see whether the Iranians were prepared to engage seriously, continue negotiations, and avoid escalation as long as this track remained open.”
From Washington’s perspective, the fact that the talks ended without a breakdown or rupture was more important than the absence of any tangible progress. “No one walked away,” the official said. “That’s the key point.”
As for the next phase, the official described it as a pause rather than a repositioning. Both sides will return to their respective capitals to assess whether further engagement is worth the political cost. He added that this was a window – not a comprehensive negotiating process. If Iran shows responsiveness, diplomacy will continue. If it does not, other options are already in place.
The official noted that the military posture has not changed and that President Donald Trump’s administration is offering no guarantees of prolonged patience. He concluded by saying that the talks bought time – and what Iran does with that time will determine what comes next.
Iran and the United States began negotiations on Friday through Omani mediation as part of efforts to overcome steep differences over Tehran’s nuclear program. However, disagreement over expanding the agenda threatens to derail diplomatic efforts and ignite another conflict in the Middle East.
While both sides have signaled a willingness to give diplomacy another chance to defuse the long-running nuclear dispute between Tehran and the West, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington wants the talks to include Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missile program, and its support for armed groups in the region, as well as its “treatment of its own people.”
Iran says it wants the talks in Muscat between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to focus solely on the nuclear issue. Jared Kushner, the U.S. president’s son-in-law – who helped mediate Gaza ceasefire talks – is also taking part in the discussions.
Iran’s religious leadership remains deeply concerned about the possibility that Trump could carry out his threats to strike Iran after the United States bolstered its naval forces nearby.
Last June, the United States carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear targets after joining the final stages of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said it has halted uranium enrichment.
Trump further reinforced the U.S. naval presence following a deadly crackdown by the Iranian government last month to suppress protests that erupted across the country, a move that heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Trump warned that “bad things” were likely to happen if no agreement is reached, increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic amid a crisis that has already seen exchanges of threats of strikes.
Global powers and regional states fear that the collapse of negotiations could lead to another conflict between the United States and Iran, one that could spread across the oil-rich region.
In a clear act of defiance, and just hours before the talks, Iranian state television reported that one of the country’s most advanced long-range ballistic missiles, the “Khorramshahr-4,” had been deployed at one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ massive underground missile complexes.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
