Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described initial nuclear talks with the U.S. as "well carried out," but cautioned that negotiations "may or may not yield results," highlighting deep-seated mistrust between the two nations as they prepare for further discussions this weekend in Muscat, Oman.
Saturday's upcoming negotiations follow recent indirect talks mediated by Oman between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Although Khamenei acknowledged the positive execution of initial steps, he warned Iran against repeating past diplomatic errors, stating: "At the time (of the JCPOA), we made everything conditional on the progress of the negotiations. This mistake... should not be repeated here."
Witkoff, representing the Trump administration, emphasized that verification of Iran's uranium enrichment and weaponization activities would dominate future talks. He told Fox News, "The conversation with the Iranians will be much about two critical points: verification on the enrichment programme and then ultimately verification on weaponisation, that includes missiles, type of missiles that they have stockpiled there, and it includes the trigger for a bomb."
Notably, Witkoff stopped short of demanding full dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program-a stance repeatedly called for by other senior U.S. officials. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz previously insisted that a final agreement should involve Iran fully abandoning nuclear capabilities.
Tehran quickly dismissed these proposals as unacceptable. Revolutionary Guard spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini underscored Iran's position, stating: "National security and defence and military power are among the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which cannot be discussed or negotiated under any circumstances."
The United Nations nuclear watchdog recently reported Iran had amassed approximately 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels of 60%, significantly higher than the 3.67% limit established by the original 2015 nuclear deal. Witkoff explicitly called for Iran to return to this lower enrichment level to prevent weaponization risks.
Another contentious issue involves a U.S. proposal that Iran transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpile to a third country, such as Russia. Tehran firmly opposes this, insisting the stockpile remain domestically controlled under strict UN supervision. Iranian negotiators see retaining the enriched material as critical leverage should a future U.S. administration withdraw from any new agreement.
Iran has emphasized additional non-negotiable "red lines," including the exclusion of discussions on regional influence and ballistic missile capabilities. Iranian state media reiterated that regional activities and defensive missile programs remain off-limits, calling U.S. demands excessive.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking alongside President Trump last week, advocated a Libya-style full nuclear dismantlement, a scenario explicitly rejected by Iran given the violent overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi following Libya's abandonment of its nuclear ambitions.
