Trump envoys met directly with Iran foreign minister in Oman
During the talks, Trump's advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met directly with Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, two sources briefed on the meeting said.
US works on transition plans for Iran even as envoys in Oman for nuclear talks
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is closely involved. He is helping to assemble a group of Iranian-American business leaders to advise on the formation of some sort of transitional entity to help govern Iran in the event of the regime's collapse, the source said.
The first source, who is involved in the White House discussions, also said the Trump administration wants to convene a meeting of Iranian opposition figures in Palm Beach, Florida, where the President's Mar-a-Lago estate is located. The meeting could happen as soon as this weekend but logistics are complex. It was not clear if organisers want it to take place at Mar-a-Lago or nearby, the source said.
Among those pushing for regime change in Iran is Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last monarch. He has a large network of supporters outside Iran and many protesters were heard chanting his name in recent demonstrations. He has previously said he wants to offer himself as a “transitional leader” and he is not seeking a broader political position, unless the Iranian people vote for that.
Alex Vatanka, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the regime in Tehran is claiming that America's willingness to return to talks is evidence of US weakness or lack of options. And despite Friday's talks, many Washington analysts think military action is the most likely outcome.
Trita Parsi, vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said Israel was lobbying for strikes. “The more time passes, the more [Mr Trump] is going to be just convinced, because he's an impatient person, that he needs to take military action,” Mr Parsi said. “He's just not going to have the energy to constantly push back against the Israelis.”
Edmund Fitton-Brown, who was British ambassador to Yemen in from 2015 to 2017, said it was hard to see Tehran conceding enough in talks for the US credibly to be able to claim that it has made a breakthrough.
“And this is where I think that probably military conflict is more likely than not, and that is because I don't think that the US can walk away without having extracted major concessions from Iran without a significant loss, reputational hit to the President,” said Mr Fitton-Brown, who is now a senior fellow at the FDD think tank in Washington.