US-Iran talks scheduled amidst diplomatic headwinds
Talks between Iran and the United States will be held Friday in Oman, Iranian media reported Wednesday as tensions remain high with Washington after Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
The semi-official ISNA and Tasnim news agencies, as well as the Student News Network, all reported the talks would take place in Oman, though the sultanate did not immediately acknowledge it would host them. Oman has hosted multiple rounds of earlier nuclear talks between Iran and the US in the past.
The US has not acknowledge the talks would take place in Oman, though the White House said it anticipated the negotiations would take place even after the US shot down an Iranian drone Tuesday and Iran attempted to stop a US-flagged ship.
Also on Wednesday, activists said the number of arrests topped 50,000 in the government crackdown, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in other rounds of unrest in Iran.
At least 50,834 people have been arrested in connection with the Iranian government's crackdown on protests, the activists said. The crackdown on the demonstrations has also killed at least 6,876 people, though there are fears many more may be dead.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll due to the sweeping internet shutdown in Iran.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Iran in a wide-ranging call that comes as the US administration pushes Beijing and others to isolate Tehran.
Trump said the two leaders also discussed a broad range of other critical issues in the US-China relationship, including trade and Taiwan and his plans to visit Beijing in April.
Trump, who continues to weigh taking military action against Iran, announced last month in a social media post he would impose a 25 per cent tax on imports to the United States from countries that do business with Iran.
Years of sanctions aimed at stopping Iran's nuclear program have left the country isolated. But Tehran still did nearly $125 billion in international trade in 2024, including $32 billion with China, $28 billion with the United Arab Emirates and $17 billion with Turkey, according to the World Trade Organisation.
