White House official visited Oman in hopes of restarting nuclear talks: Report

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

The IAEA has recently ruled that traces of near-weapons grade uranium found in Iran were not intended to be used for a nuclear bomb

Brett McGurk, senior advisor to US President Joe Biden, went on a “low profile trip” to Oman earlier in May to discuss with Omani officials a “possible diplomatic outreach” to Iran regarding its nuclear program, a number of US, EU, and Israeli officials told Axios on 30 May.

This comes as the Biden administration is “extremely concerned about the advances in Iran’s nuclear program and the risk of it leading to a regional military escalation.”

According to an earlier Axios report released in April, Washington had discussed with Israeli and EU officials a proposal for an agreement that would see the US provide some sanctions relief to Tehran in exchange for the Islamic Republic freezing parts of its nuclear program.

This latest report says that McGurk traveled to the Omani capital on 8 May after visiting Saudi Arabia and Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was briefed on the US talks in the kingdom.

“The Muscat visit wasn’t made public by either the U.S. or Oman. The officials said the main issue that was discussed was a new diplomatic push over Iran’s nuclear program with Omani mediation,” Axios writes.

“The Omanis are holding proximity talks between the U.S. and Iran,” an Israeli official was quoted as saying, with another official adding that Washington “is exploring through the Omani government whether the Iranians are open to taking steps that would put some limits on their nuclear program,” and thereby deescalate regional tensions.

However, a White House National Security Council spokesperson has denied the officials’ claims.

“There is no U.S. discussion of an interim deal and no discussion of sanctions relief or closing safeguards cases,” the spokesperson said.

In August 2022, Tehran and Washington got closer to reaching a deal than ever before after talks resumed following an EU-drafted proposal to revive the 2015 nuclear deal under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Not long after, efforts stalled once again as the result of a coordinated Israeli pressure campaign aimed at preventing Washington from going through with an agreement. The revival of the deal ultimately failed, as western-sponsored civil unrest began to unfold on the streets of the Islamic Republic.

The news comes a day after Iranian media reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ruled, in coordination with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), that traces of near-weapons grade uranium found in Iran were only residual and not intended for use in making a nuclear bomb.