WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump thanked Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on Tuesday for his nation’s help in facilitating talks with Iran about its nuclear program.
Trump thanked bin Tariq “for hosting the first direct meeting between the United States and Iran, and emphasized the need for Iran to end its nuclear program through negotiations,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
“The two leaders also discussed the United States’ ongoing operations against the Houthis, and emphasized that the Houthis will pay a severe price until they end their attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea,” she added.
The call came three days after the US and Iran concluded the first round of negotiations in Oman with both sides agreeing to meet again Saturday. Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed late Monday that the talks will again be held in Muscat, the Omani capital.
The negotiations follow a prolonged stalemate and come amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington after Trump returned to the White House in January.
Led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the Iranian side, and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, a first round concluded Saturday with both delegations striking upbeat notes.
Trump downplayed the difficulties in the negotiations on Monday, saying the talks are almost “easy.”
Trump told reporters he would broker a resolution to the long-standing issue, describing it as “almost an easy one” to resolve. Still, he complained that the next meeting with Iran is not scheduled until next Saturday, which he described as a “long time” following the conclusion of this weekend’s talks in Oman, while accusing Tehran of purposefully drawing out the talks.
“I want them to be a rich, great nation. The only thing is one thing, simple. It’s really simple. They can’t have a nuclear weapon, and they got to go fast, because they’re fairly close to having one, and they’re not going to have one, and if we have to do something very harsh we’ll do it,” he added.
Trump has threatened Iran with military strikes and secondary sanctions if it failed to reach a new deal with the US on its nuclear program — to replace a deal Trump scuttled during his first term.
The negotiations mark the first direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran since the signing of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from that nuclear deal, which was brokered between world powers and Iran, in 2018, and reimposed sanctions on Tehran in what he calls a “maximum pressure campaign.” The effort proved futile during the US president’s first term, and only served to exacerbate regional tensions.
Despite complying with the JCPOA for more than a year after the US withdrawal, Iran gradually reduced its commitments, citing the failure of the deal’s remaining signatories to protect its interests.
