1 day ago
8
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
In a first meeting, the United States and Iran show signs of pragmatism and limited aims, which would make success more likely. But hard-liners on both sides — and Israel — are bound to balk.
Steven Erlanger has covered the vagaries of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program for many years.
April 13, 2025, 6:39 a.m. ET
The first meeting between the United States and Iran over its expanding nuclear program on Saturday displayed a seriousness of purpose and an effort to avoid what neither side wants, another war in the Middle East. They will talk again next Saturday, but the hard work lies ahead, as hard-liners in both countries, and Israel, are expected to balk at most any deal.
If the first nuclear deal, reached in 2015, was prompted by Iran’s desire to rid itself of punishing economic sanctions, these talks have more urgency. Iran, battered by Israel and with its regional proxies diminished, still wants economic relief. But it also understands that the Islamic Republic itself is under threat and that President Trump, who pulled out of the first deal because he thought it was too weak, may not be bluffing about Iran facing “bombing the likes of which they’ve never seen before.”
And Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has given his negotiators at least one last chance to trade Iran’s nuclear ambitions for lasting security.
The talks in Oman also promised some efficiency. The 2015 deal was struck between Iran and six countries — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, with the European Union playing the role of intermediary — and took two years.
This time the talks are bilateral, with the Europeans but also Russia and China on the sidelines. And although the United States remains “the Great Satan” for Ayatollah Khamenei, it also holds the key to restraining Israel and securing any lasting settlement. While Iran insisted on indirect talks through Oman, and Mr. Trump on direct talks, the two sides managed to fudge the issue, with Mr. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, talking directly to Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, as the meeting ended.
“This is as good a start as it gets,” said Ali Vaez, Iran project director for the International Crisis Group. “They could have stumbled, but they agreed to meet again, they met together at the end and they agreed on the ultimate objective.”
