Washington and Tehran must meet on Saturday under the auspices of Oman to avoid an escalation. Donald Trump has long threatened a new military intervention against Iran, before favoring diplomacy.

Published on: 02/05/2026 - 5:49 p.m.

What will Iran and the United States talk about on Friday February 6 in Oman? Tehran wants discussions focusing solely on nuclear power, a subject of contention for decades with the West, while American demands go beyond this single subject.

The two enemy countries had already held talks in spring 2025 under Omani mediation, but a war in June, triggered by Israel and briefly joined by the United States, derailed the process on the eve of a sixth meeting.

After the repression of a vast protest movement in early January, Donald Trump raised the threat of a new military intervention against Iran before favoring diplomacy, with Washington now pushing Tehran to conclude an agreement on nuclear and ballistic aspects.

What level of enrichment since the American strikes?

Western countries, led by the United States, and Israel – sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic and considered by experts as the only nuclear power in the Middle East – suspect Tehran of wanting to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran denies having such military ambitions.

In June 2025, the United States bombed three nuclear sites in Iran (Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan), which made it possible, according to Donald Trump, to "annihilate" the country's nuclear program. However, the exact extent of the damage is not known.

Before these strikes, Iran was enriching uranium to 60% according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), well beyond the limit of 3.67% authorized by the now obsolete 2015 nuclear agreement concluded with the great powers. In response to the United States' withdrawal in 2018, Iran backed away from its commitments.

Enriched between 3 and 5%, uranium is used to power nuclear power plants for the production of electricity. Up to 20%, it can be used to produce medical isotopes, used in particular in the diagnosis of certain cancers.

Beyond this threshold, enriched uranium can have potential military applications according to experts. And to make a bomb, enrichment must be pushed up to 90%.

Donald Trump has several times spoken out in favor of a total ban, a condition which would be much less favorable for Tehran than the 2015 agreement.

Iran, which defends the right to civilian nuclear power, particularly for energy, considers this requirement as a "red line", contrary to the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which it is a signatory.

Uncertain uranium stocks

Great uncertainty surrounds the fate of Iran's reserves of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, last seen on June 10 by IAEA inspectors.

According to the UN body, it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium to 60%. The stockpile, if it has not been destroyed, theoretically allows it to manufacture more than nine bombs if the enrichment is increased to 90%.

“The materials are under the rubble” of the bombed nuclear sites “and we have not made any attempt to extract them (...), because it is dangerous,” Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to the Iranian supreme leader, assured the Al-Mayadeen channel this week.

“We are discussing this issue with the IAEA in order to find a solution while guaranteeing security,” he added, while inspectors have still not had access to the attacked sites.

Several countries, like Russia, have offered Tehran to hand over its stock of enriched uranium, which Tehran is currently refusing. “There is no reason to move the materials abroad when we can eliminate the sources of concern” linked to its end use, insisted Ali Shamkhani.

"We have no plans to militarize our nuclear program" and "we can therefore dilute the material from 60 to, say, 20%. If that worries you, we can dilute it. But in exchange, you have to pay something," he said, in reference to the lifting of sanctions demanded by Tehran.

Washington wants to discuss Israel's security

Tehran is pushing for the talks to be strictly limited to nuclear power and the lifting of sanctions and to make this a non-negotiable principle.

In 2018, the American withdrawal from the nuclear agreement was partly motivated by the lack of measures against Iran's ballistic program, perceived as a threat to Israel.

According to the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio, this subject must appear at the negotiating table, in particular the range of the missiles, as well as that of Iran's regional policy.

The Islamic Republic is the bridgehead of the “axis of resistance”, this informal alliance of armed groups hostile to Israel, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

With AFP

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