The United States and Iran will hold their next round of nuclear talks Thursday in Geneva, a facilitator said Sunday, as the Islamic Republic faces both the threat of a U.S. military strike and new protests at home.
Omanās foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, confirmed the talks. Oman previously hosted theĀ indirect talksĀ on the Islamic Republicās nuclear program and facilitated the latest round in Geneva last week.
There was no immediate comment from the Trump administration, which has built up theĀ largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades as it pushes its longtime adversary for concessions on its nuclear program and more.
Shortly before Omanās announcement, Iranās top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, told CBS in an interview that he expected to meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva on Thursday, and said a āgood chanceā remained for a diplomatic solution on the nuclear issue.
Washington awaits a proposed deal that Araghchi has said would be ready to share within days, and the foreign minster told CBS that Iran was still working on the draft proposal.
The nuclear issue, he added, is the only matter being discussed ā even though both the United States and Israel also want to address Iranās missile program and its support for armed proxies in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump warned on Friday thatĀ limited strikes against IranĀ are possible, and both Iran and the U.S. haveĀ signaled they are prepared for warĀ if the talks on Tehranās nuclear program fail.
Minutes after Omanās confirmation of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on social media that negotiations had involved āthe exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals,ā but added that Tehran has āmade all necessary preparations for any potential scenario.ā
The U.S. has said Iran cannot have nuclear weapons or the capacity to build them and that it cannot enrich uranium. Araghchi, however, told CBS that Iran has the right to enrich uranium.
On Friday, he said his U.S. counterparts had not asked for zero enrichment as part of the latest round of talks, which is not what U.S. officials have said publicly. He also said talks focused on how to ensure that Iranās nuclear program, including enrichment, āwill remain peaceful forever.ā He said that in return, Iran will implement confidence-building measures in exchange for relief onĀ economic sanctions.
Tehran has long insisted that any negotiations should onlyĀ focus on its nuclear program, and has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups.
Although Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, the U.S. and others suspect it is aimed at eventually developing weapons. Iran says it hasnāt been enriching uranium sinceĀ U.S. and Israeli strikesĀ on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
At that time, Trump said the strikes had āobliteratedā Iranās nuclear sites, but the exact damage is unknown becauseĀ Tehran has barred international inspectors.
Meanwhile, Araghchi asserted to CBS that āwe have a very good capability of missiles, and now we are even in a better situationā than before the strikes in June.
Nuclear talks had been deadlocked for years after Trumpās decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the U.S.Ā from Iranās 2015 nuclear dealwith world powers.
New protests in Iran
Confirmation of new talks came as new anti-government protests began inĀ Iran, according to witnesses, as university students in Tehran and another city demonstrated around memorials for thousands of people killed in aĀ crackdown on previous nationwide demonstrationsabout six weeks ago.
Iranās state news agency said students protested at five universities in the capital, Tehran, and one in the city of Mashhad on Sunday. The scattered protests erupted Saturday at universities following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies.
Videos posted on social media appeared to show confrontations at two universities between government supporters and anti-government protesters, with some chanting āDeath to dictator.ā
Iranās government has not commented on the latest protests.
Many Iranians have held ceremonies marking the traditional 40-day mourning period in the past week. Most of the protesters are believed to have been killed around Jan. 8 and 9, according to activists tracking the situation.
Iranians across the country are still reeling withĀ shock,Ā griefĀ andĀ fear after the earlier protests were crushed by the deadliest crackdown ever seen under the rule of 86-year-oldĀ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands are believed to have beenĀ arrested.
Although the crackdown tamped down the largest protests, smaller ones are still occurring, according to protesters and videos shared on social media.
DuringĀ the 1979 Islamic RevolutionĀ that toppled the shah andĀ brought the Islamic Republic to power, 40-day memorials for slain protesters often turned into rallies that security forces tried to crush, causing new deaths. Those were then marked 40 days later, with new protests.
Posts on social media Saturday and Sunday have alleged that security forces tried to restrict people from attending some 40-day ceremonies.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,015 people were killed in the previous protests and crackdown, including 214 government forces. The group has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists there to verify deaths.
The death toll continues to rise as the group crosschecks information despite disrupted communication with those inside the Islamic Republic.
Iranās government offered its only death toll from the previous protests on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iranās theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com