Iran agrees to discuss ballistic missile arsenal, support for proxies – report

After briefly canceling talks with the US before reaffirming they will take place, Iran reportedly agreed to American demands.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Iran has agreed to discuss issues beyond its uranium enrichment program with the United States at upcoming talks in Oman, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times.

The report cited three Iranian officials and one Arab official with knowledge of the talks who said that in reconciling the two sides following the brief cancelation of the Oman meeting, both the US and Iran had made some concessions.

Iran on Wednesday reportedly canceled its participation in the talks slated for Friday morning, after demanding that the US agree to move the summit from Istanbul to Oman and to limit the scope of the talks to Iran’s nuclear program.

According to various media reports, the summit were briefly called off before Iran was convinced to accept a compromise, with the US agreeing to Iran’s call to hold the meeting in Oman’s capital city, Muscat.

However, according to the Times report on Thursday, Iran also made major concessions.

The talks, slated to begin on Friday morning, will be direct, face-to-face negotiations, the report said, in line with American demands.

In addition, Iran has reportedly agreed to a key American precondition for talks: that negotiations not be limited to the nuclear issue.

The officials cited in Thursday’s report said that, in contrast to public statements by Iranian officials, Tehran is prepared to discuss its financial and material support for terrorist proxy groups across the Middle East, including Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas.

Iran has also accepted U.S. demands that the talks cover its ballistic missile program, the report said.