Muscat: Once again, some of the highest stakes in Middle East geopolitics will be discussed in this quiet coastal city without skyscrapers.
Here in Muscat, the capital of Oman nestled against the sheer stone heights of the Hajar Mountains, Iran and the United States will meet for talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme for the time since President Donald Trump began his second term.
No agreement is immediately likely, but the stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for these two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear programme if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
And at the centre is Oman, one of the world’s last sultanates on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Its unique history, people and proximity to Iran have made it indispensable for the West as it has held discussion after discussion for Iran.
But these latest talks — suddenly announced by Trump in the Oval Office just days earlier — have put Oman firmly into a spotlight it otherwise seeks to avoid.
“The Omanis have a lot of experience when it comes to playing this back-channel role,” said Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO and founder of the Washington-based risk analysis firm Gulf State Analytics. “I think that right now in this day and age of Trump 2.0, the stakes are really high,” he added.