As regional leaders work to avert war, the United States and Iran are scheduled to meet in Oman for peace Solution

Oman hosts talk between the United States and Iran as regional leaders try to avoid war.

Diplomats from the Middle East believe that Iran’s nuclear program could move forward, but they are skeptical about other demands from the United States. On Friday, officials from Iran and the United States will meet in Muscat, Oman’s capital, for the first time since the war between Iran and the United States in June — this time in an effort to avoid another conflict. However, it is still unclear whether the two sides are in agreement regarding their willingness to negotiate.

Leaders in the Middle East have been putting in a lot of effort to bring the parties together because they see it as the best way to keep the region from getting into another war. President Trump has been threatening to strike Iran for more than a month. He said that an American “armada” of warships reached the Persian Gulf last week. Several Iran-backed militias in the region have also pledged to join the fray, and Iran has threatened severe retaliation against U.S. military targets throughout the region and Israel.

The conflict started when Mr. As massive anti-government demonstrations swept across the nation last month, Trump issued a warning that he might strike Iran if the country killed peaceful protesters. Rights groups claim that thousands of people died as a result of the government’s crackdown on those demonstrations. Mr.  In recent weeks, Trump has not spoken about the protests. Instead, he has pledged to strike Iran “with speed and violence” if it does not comply with three demands: a reduction in the number and range of ballistic missiles, an end to its support for regional militant groups, and an end to its nuclear program and enriched uranium stockpile.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that “in order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful,” they needed to include ballistic missiles, Iran’s aligned militias, and its treatment of its own people. Two Middle Eastern diplomats stated that other nations in the region have been pushing for the session to focus on Iran’s nuclear program because they are concerned that discussions of Iran’s missiles and regional proxies could result in an immediate impasse.

Limiting Iran’s enrichment capabilities to 3% or less has been proposed by some of its neighbors. Iran would then be able to “save face” from Mr. They asserted that Trump’s demand for zero enrichment would effectively result in the same outcome due to the fact that it is far from the 90% enrichment required for most nuclear weapons.

According to three Iranian officials, Tehran may also be willing to offer a prolonged halt to its nuclear program. They stated that in return, it would hope Washington would lift the enduring sanctions that have contributed to Iran’s economic collapse. In January, regional leaders managed to persuade Mr.  to put off his plans to strike Iran, Trump.

They started a new round of intense shuttle diplomacy to hold talks that could end the standoff after he ordered a military buildup in the area later in the month. It has been difficult for them to get the two sides to agree on where to meet or what they will negotiate. Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar were expected to attend the talks on Friday, which were initially scheduled to take place in Istanbul.

Concerned about being forced into a negotiation with the entire region, Iranian officials backed out of that plan. Instead, smaller talks were planned in Oman, where Oman would act as a mediator between the United States and Iran. However, three regional officials stated that they were having trouble figuring out how to move forward with U.S. demands other than the nuclear issue.

According to two of these officials, it would be very hard to come to an agreement on a way to effectively monitor whether Iran is still supplying allied militias in the region with money or weapons. Additionally, the three officials stated that Iran was adamant that it would not make any concessions regarding its ballistic missiles because it considered these weapons to be essential to its defense against Israel in the event of future attacks. Iran’s nuclear and military facilities were battered during the 12-day war Israel and the United States fought against Iran in June, with U.S. warplanes briefly joining in.

However, Israeli officials have repeatedly urged Washington to press for restrictions because they are still concerned about Iran’s long-range missiles. Two officials from the Middle East stated that a joint statement between Iran and the United States pledging to continue negotiations and refraining from military action would be one way to resolve the issues.

Farzan Sabet, an analyst for the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland who studies Iran, stated, “There is a deal to be had, but it is quite narrow and it is not a great deal.” “I think the odds for even such a small deal are pretty low,” Mr. Iran’s nuclear program would effectively cease, at least during the Trump administration, if Tehran did so.

That, Mr., could be marketed by Trump as a “big victory without firing a shot.” Added Sabet. He stated, “But given the leverage that the United States has, and the desire that the U.S. establishment has to solve this Iran issue and move on, it’s also not a great deal from their perspective.”