US President Donald Trump will meet Iranian officials in Oman on Saturday as part of efforts to restart nuclear negotiations with Tehran. The talks come amid heightened tensions between the two nations over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he would participate indirectly through a mediator, while Trump insisted they would be direct negotiations. The talks represent a milestone in the fraught relations between the US and Iran over Iran’s atomic program, which is enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels.
The history of tensions between the two countries dates back to 1967 when Iran took possession of its Tehran Research Reactor under America’s “Atoms for Peace” program. The crisis escalated in 1979 with the hostage-taking of American diplomats by Iranian students and lasted until international pressure forced Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment.
Recent years have seen a series of attacks on Israeli targets, including missile strikes from Hamas militants in Gaza and Houthi rebels in Yemen. In July, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader stated that Tehran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one.
The US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, citing concerns over missile development and support for regional militias. The agreement collapsed after Trump unilaterally pulled out, paving the way for renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Today’s talks mark a new attempt to address the crisis, with Trump seeking better terms for US interests in exchange for lifting economic sanctions on Iran. The outcome of the negotiations remains uncertain, but they represent a significant development in efforts to reduce tensions between the two nations.
Source: https://time.com/7276006/timeline-tensions-between-iran-us-nuclear-negotiations-loom