A historic meeting to be held between Tehran and Washington in Muscat!

All eyes will be on the historic meeting between the United States and Iran hosted by the Omani capital, Muscat, on Saturday to resolve the crisis over Tehran’s nuclear program, which is expected to cast a shadow over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The meeting between them comes as the region and the world are witnessing escalating tensions due to the ongoing Israeli war of extermination against the Gaza Strip and its repercussions across the region, from the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria to Yemen and the Red Sea region.

Global markets are also collapsing due to Trump’s trade war against countries around the world, most notably China and other Asian nations.

On the eve of the meeting, the White House warned of “costly American options” if a new deal failed, stressing that President Donald Trump wants to resolve the nuclear issue with Iran through direct talks.

An informed US source said Trump is willing to make concessions.

In contrast, Iran rules out the possibility of reaching an agreement unless the US abandons threats and intimidation, while affirming at the same time that it believes in dialogue and interaction based on mutual respect as the two most important strategies for resolving regional issues.

Last Monday, during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following their meeting at the White House, Trump announced the launch of direct negotiations with Iran on Saturday.

Later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the Sultanate of Oman would host indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on Saturday.

These talks will be the highest-level talks on the matter since Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 during his first term.

Araghchi arrived in Muscat at the head of a political delegation to hold indirect talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said Friday evening that President Trump wants to resolve the nuclear issue with Iran through direct talks.

In a press conference, she warned that there are American options that would be very costly for Tehran if it rejected them.

“Either you (Iran) accept President Trump’s demands, or there will be a heavy price to pay,” she said.

In turn, Trump said on Air Force One en route to Florida on Friday evening, “I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon… I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon”.

On Wednesday, Trump threatened Iran, saying, “If military intervention is necessary, we will use it”.

“It’s clear that Israel will be a strong participant in this… It will be the leader in this matter,” he added.

Last March, President Trump gave the Iranians a two-month deadline to reach a deal on their nuclear program.

In a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he said that “Iran has two months to reach a new nuclear agreement,” according to a source familiar with the contents of the letter, CNN reported.

Late that month, Trump threatened Iran with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran didn’t reach an agreement with Washington on its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed a strong response to US and Israeli threats to attack Iran.

Iran has repeatedly affirmed its rejection of the US’s policy of threats, and has thus refused to hold direct talks with the US due to Trump’s threatening messages.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said there was a good possibility of reaching an agreement if the US side didn’t raise irrelevant demands and issues, and if it abandoned threats and intimidation.

In statements reported by the IRNA news agency, he stressed that his country believes in dialogue and interaction based on mutual respect and rejects any form of intimidation or coercion, noting “Iran’s principled policy of establishing the best relations with its neighbors”.

He stressed that dialogue and interaction are the most important strategies for resolving regional issues.

On the eve of the negotiations, former Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi wrote, “If America starts a war with Iran, it won’t only be unable to lead or end it, but will also face horrific, tensing, and destabilizing consequences for the region and the entire world, extending to Ukraine and Taiwan”.

Salehi, the former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and head of the Institute for Iranian Studies, added on social media, “America must know that negotiation is always better than war, especially today”.

The Iranian Foreign Minister had previously announced that the talks would be held in the Sultanate of Oman on Saturday, explaining that these negotiations would be conducted indirectly, and that no other negotiating method would be accepted.

According to Araghchi, “The ball is now in America’s court, and if they come to Oman with real will, they will achieve results”.

He indicated that he would represent his country in these negotiations, while Steve Witkoff would represent the United States.

Tehran’s insistence on indirect negotiations dates back to last month, when Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter from Trump regarding the nuclear program.

Despite Washington’s talk of direct talks, Axios website quoted an informed source as saying that the first round of talks would begin indirectly, indicating that if the opening session is positive, it is likely they will evolve into direct talks.

Axios also quoted an unnamed US official as saying that Trump is willing to make concessions to reach an agreement with the Iranians, but the key question is, “Do the Iranians have the political will to engage in a serious discussion so that we don’t resort to another alternative?”

It’s worth noting that the relationship between Tehran and Trump has been characterized by tension and mistrust, following the latter’s unilateral withdrawal during his first term (2017-2021) from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major powers, and his return to a policy of maximum pressure against Iran in an attempt to isolate it diplomatically and economically.