Iran rebuffs U.S. demand to halt enrichment while offering limited talks

Iran refused a U.S. demand that it stop uranium enrichment on its soil during indirect talks held in Muscat, Oman, senior regional interlocutors said, even as Tehran offered to negotiate limits on the "level and purity" of its enrichment or explore a regional consortium to manage fuel production.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran conveyed Iran's position to mediators in Oman and to international interlocutors monitoring the weekend discussions. The diplomat said Tehran "seemed to understand Iran’s stance on the enrichment … and they showed flexibility about Tehran’s demands," and added that "Iran’s missile capabilities were not discussed during the talks in Muscat."

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi (also transliterated as Abbas Araqchi) led Tehran's delegation and, according to Iranian media, presented his Omani counterpart with a "preliminary plan" to "manage the current situation" between Iran and the United States. Oman's role as host underlined Muscat's traditional function as a discreet facilitator for regional diplomacy, offering a neutral setting for indirect exchanges between the two adversaries.

U.S. participants were described in briefings as including envoys identified as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner; the participation of those individuals has not been independently confirmed. U.S. officials entered the meetings seeking a broader agenda, according to American statements circulated ahead of the talks, that would address ballistic missiles, Tehran's regional proxies and its record on domestic protests. Iranian officials insisted beforehand that the discussion be limited to nuclear matters.

The refusal to halt enrichment marks a clear red line for Tehran: it insists on retaining domestic control of fuel production while offering technical constraints and verification as bargaining chips. Washington, for its part, continues to assert that Iran must be prevented from acquiring a nuclear weapon. U.S. Vice President JD Vance reiterated that posture in public remarks, saying the president would "keep his options open" and asserting, "Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. That is the stated policy goal of the president of the United States." He added a critique of competing domestic views on force and diplomacy: "It's so funny. Sometimes you have people who are saying, 'Well, the president's too belligerent.' And then sometimes you have people who say, 'Well, the president, he's talking about diplomacy and he's talking about negotiating with the Iranians. We shouldn't negotiate. We should just bomb them.'"

The Muscat talks produced little substantive movement on core differences, but both sides agreed to continue negotiations in an effort to prevent military escalation, the regional diplomat said. The discussions took place against a heightened security backdrop: U.S. forces have shifted assets closer to the region, including a carrier strike group, and both Tehran and Washington have traded threats after prior strikes on nuclear sites and a major Iranian missile strike on a U.S. target in the region.

Diplomacy in Muscat remains fragile and narrowly focused. Tehran's willingness to discuss the technical "level and purity" of enrichment opens a potential technical path to de-escalation, yet it falls far short of the U.S. demand to end enrichment on Iranian territory. Absent clearer agreements on verification, sanctions relief and regional confidence measures, the talks are likely to continue as cautious, incremental exchanges rather than a rapid path to resolution.