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The officials from the United States and Iran have begun the crucial talks on the latter's controversial nuclear programme in Oman's capital, Muscat. Abbas Araghchi, top diplomat and Iran's foreign minister is spearheading a new round of high-level negotiations. At the negotiation table, Araghchi will be facing US envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate magnate without previous experience in foreign policy.
The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for these two nations amid an ongoing tariff war and an Israel-Gaza offensive. After coming to power for the second time in the United States, President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached. Meanwhile, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had publicly and repeatedly banned engaging with Washington before relenting to the pressures of the higher officials. However, Khamenei insists on indirect talks while Trump wants direct negotiations.
Araghchi has a reputation as a master of tough negotiations after he played a key role in striking the nuclear deal in 2015. The Iranian negotiating team also includes the top Iranian diplomat, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi, and Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei.
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All we know about Abbas Araghchi
Abbas Araghchi was born in Tehran in 1962 to a wealthy religious family. During the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, Aragchi was reportedly 17 years old. He was among scores of other young boys in Iran who, with the hope of a brighter future for Iran, joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He also joined the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 to 1988.
Araghchi joined Iran's foreign ministry in 1989 and served as Director General of the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS). He then served as ambassador in Finland (1999–2003) and Japan (2007–2011). He served as a political deputy at the foreign ministry from 2017 to 2021. He also became a foreign ministry spokesperson in 2013.
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A believer in the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, Araghchi has served under several presidents. Under Hassan Rouhani's government, Araghchi was appointed the chief nuclear negotiator in 2015. The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was reached between Iran and six world powers, including the US. Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.
Unfortunately, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. After Joe Biden came to power, Araghchi was engaged in indirect talks with US officials. After Masoud Pezeshkian became Iran's president in July 2024, Araghchi was appointed the foreign minister, and he is back as chief negotiator for another nuclear deal.
Abbas Araghchi has said that his country seeks a "fair and honourable" deal with the United States, even as there's no clarity if the talks will be direct or indirect. Meanwhile, President Trump wants Iran to know that there will be "all hell to pay" if it does not abandon its nuclear program. With officials in Oman, the world would soon know if it is a new phase for West Asia and an end to Iran’s long-standing standoff with the West or yet another phase of bombing and disaster in West Asia.
(with inputs from agencies)