Iran is seeking a “real and fair” agreement with the United States on its nuclear program, a senior aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday, ahead of talks over the weekend.
“Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready,” Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani said in a post on X.
The talks between the longtime adversaries are set to take place on Saturday in Oman, aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. President Trump has said they will be “direct talks,” while Iran’s foreign minister referred to them as “indirect high-level talks” through a mediator.
President Trump sent a letter to Khamenei last month urging negotiations, warning of possible military action if Iran refuses. In the lead-up to the talks this week, Mr. Trump reiterated his warning that military action was “absolutely” possible if talks failed.
Iran responded by saying it could expel U.N. nuclear inspectors, prompting another U.S. warning that such action would be an “escalation.”
Iran has consistently denied that it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons and has said for decades that its program is peaceful. Its officials, though, have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon.
U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that the country has not started a weapons program, but that it has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so,” The Associated Press reported.
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman, which has played a mediating role. Witkoff visited Russia on Friday for talks on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ally of Iran.