Khaberni - Hours after the conclusion of the Muscat talks between the Iranian and American sides, the American news site Axios confirmed that a direct meeting had taken place between the two parties.
Axios reported from two sources, whose identities were not disclosed, but said they were informed about what happened in the talks, that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Shortly after, the news site "Iran Nuances," close to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed the occurrence of the meeting, which it described as brief, citing two Iranian sources and a third Omani source.
The Iranian site mentioned that the meeting was merely an exchange of ordinary greetings, as part of the usual diplomatic practices that also occurred during previous rounds.
ISNA, the Iranian news agency, also confirmed the brief meeting, describing it as merely a routine diplomatic greeting during the indirect nuclear talks in Muscat, and noted that similar diplomatic greetings had occurred in previous periods as well.
The agency clarified that this brief meeting took place without the presence of Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), who accompanied the US negotiators in a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.
According to Axios, the importance of this meeting lies in that it was the first direct encounter between the American and Iranian sides since the Twelve-Day War that erupted in June 2025, and it occurred amidst a massive American military buildup in the Gulf, along with President Donald Trump's warning of the possibility of resorting to military action if a quick agreement is not reached.
According to Axios, Iran insisted for most of the previous meetings to communicate with the United States only through intermediaries, instead of direct negotiations, which was the case throughout the talks on Friday except for this direct meeting.
Friday's meeting in Muscat lasted from ten in the morning local time of Oman until six in the evening.
The talks concluded with an agreement to hold another round of talks, according to the American network CNN, which described this as a positive outcome, adding that the location of the next round has not yet been determined but is likely to be in Oman as well.
