Iran confirmed that it held indirect talks with its arch-foe the United States in Oman, despite the two countries having no diplomatic relations, state media reported.
Washington and Tehran have long been at odds, with tensions centered on Iran’s contested nuclear program and heightened by the Gaza war between their respective allies Israel and Hamas.
On Friday, American news website Axios reported that US and Iranian officials held indirect talks in Oman “on how to avoid escalating regional attacks.”
The official IRNA news agency said late on Saturday that “the representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations confirmed indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States in Oman.”
IRNA quoted him as saying that “these negotiations were not the first and will not be the last”, without giving the time and place of the talks.
The discussions were held after Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel on April 13-14.
Israel has been Iran’s sworn enemy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Regional tensions have soared since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, drawing in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Switzerland represents Washington’s interests in Iran.
In recent years, the two foes have engaged in indirect talks over measures to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, prisoner swaps and releasing Iran’s frozen funds abroad.
