The U.S. and Iran are set for nuclear talks to be held in the Sultanate on Saturday.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has welcomed a decision to host high-level nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran in Oman on Saturday.

Doha expressed its hopes that the discussions result in sustainable agreements that will strengthen security and achieve lasting regional stability and peace.

“The Ministry expressed Qatar’s appreciation for Oman’s diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing the two parties closer together,” the MoFA said.

It also affirmed Qatar’s firm belief that “dialogue is the optimal option for resolving international crises and conflicts, and its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at establishing peace and enhancing cooperation between countries to achieve global security and stability”.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that his administration and Iran would engage in talks regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, though it remains unclear if the discussions in Oman will be direct.

Despite Trump’s statement that the talks would be direct, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi contradicted this, suggesting otherwise.

Araghchi also commented that Tehran would “never accept coercion” and that Trump must agree that were would be no “military option.”

“Iran is ready to engage in earnest and with a view to seal a deal,” Araghchi wrote in an opinion piece in The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Iran state-run media said that Araghchi would be leading Iran’s delegation and owuld be in the presence of U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and intermediated by Omani foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi.

However, if Saturday’s talks prove to be unsuccessful, the U.S. president has warned that “Iran is going to be in great danger.”

“We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump said during an Oval Office press briefing on Monday

“And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable,” he added.

The Iranian foreign minister took to X saying the Oman high-level talks are “as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”

Iran-U.S. mediation

The last known direct Iran-U.S. talks were held under former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration.

During Obama’s second term in office, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 and the European Union was announced. Three years later, under Trump, the U.S withdrew from the JCPOA.

The withdrawal came with crippling sanctions on Iran and increasing tensions between the two political rivals.

Qatar has served as a key mediator between Iran and the U.S. in hopes of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.