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According to two top US officials speaking to Axios, senior Biden administration officials held indirect talks with Iranian representatives in Oman this week, aiming to mitigate the risk of escalating regional conflicts.
These discussions, led by President Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk and acting US envoy for Iran Abram Paley, mark the first engagement between the two nations since similar talks in January.
During their visit to Oman, McGurk and Paley met with Omani mediators to convey the consequences of Iran’s actions and to address US concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. Recent hints from Iranian officials suggest a possible shift towards weapon production. Vedant Patel, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson, noted that while the Biden administration maintains communication channels with Iran, it assesses that Iran is not currently advancing activities needed to produce a testable nuclear device.
Despite the sensitive nature of the talks, the White House and the State Department have refrained from commenting on the specifics of the discussions held in Oman.
These talks come as heightened tensions continue following Iran’s unprecedented missile attack on Israel on April 13, which nearly precipitated a regional war. Iran’s attack involved firing 350 ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, a retaliatory act for the Israeli assassination of Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a high-ranking Quds Force official overseeing Iranian military operations in Lebanon and Syria. This marked the first direct assault on Israel from Iranian soil.
The missile barrage was successfully thwarted through a collaborative defense effort involving Israel, the US, the UK, France, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Israel later conducted a retaliatory strike on an S-300 air defense system at an Iranian air force base.
