The Financial Times: A Secret talk between the US administration and Iran regarding the attacks in the Red Sea
The United States held secret talks with Iran during the recent period in an attempt to persuade Tehran to use its influence to curb the Ansar Allah group in Yemen, in order to end attacks on ships in the Red Sea, according to the Financial Times newspaper.
The Financial Times newspaper quoted US and Iranian officials as saying that secret indirect negotiations, during which Washington raised concerns about expanding Iran’s nuclear program, took place in the Sultanate of Oman last January, and were the first between the two countries in 10 months.
The officials said, “Omani officials, during the talks shuttled between the Iranian and US representatives so as not to speak directly”.
The Financial Times newspaper reported that the US delegation was headed by White House Middle East Advisor Brett McGurk and his envoy to Iran, Abram Paley.
On the other hand, Tehran was represented by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran’s chief negotiator on the nuclear issue.
The talks underscore how the Biden administration is using diplomatic channels with its opponent, along with military deterrence, in an attempt to calm a wave of regional hostilities involving Iranian-backed armed groups that broke out due to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, according to the Financial Times.
A person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times newspaper that US officials see the indirect channel with Iran as a way to raise a whole range of threats emanating from Iran.
This included conveying “what they need to do in order to prevent a broader conflict”.
US officials added that a second round of negotiations in which McGurk would participate was scheduled to take place last February, but it was postponed when it became linked to US efforts to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas to stop the war in Gaza and secure the release of Israelis detained in the Strip.
“We’ve many channels to pass messages to Iran,” a US State Department spokesman said, declining to provide details “other than to say that since the Hamas attack on October 7, all of them have focused on raising the full range of threats emanating from Iran”.
“It’s necessary for Tehran to stop its comprehensive escalation”.
The last known talks between the United States and Iran were the so-called “proximity talks” last May.
An Iranian official said, “Iran has repeatedly said that it only has some form of spiritual influence over the Houthis.
“It cannot dictate to the Houthis, but it can negotiate and talk”.
However, there have been signs that Tehran has sought to ease tensions with Washington since a drone attack on a US military base on the Jordanian-Syrian border killed 3 US soldiers.
The Iranian official said that when Brigadier General Ismail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, visited Baghdad last month, he told the Iraqi armed groups to manage their behavior in a way that doesn’t allow the United States to get involved with Iran.
The Ansar Allah group in Yemen says that it’s targeting ships owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to or from Israel, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli attack since the seventh of last October.
The United States and Britain direct repeated air strikes on Ansar Allah sites with the aim of disrupting and weakening the group’s capabilities to endanger freedom of navigation and threaten global trade.
