February 5, 2026
Christine Maguire, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours and Nils Adler
The US joined its ally Israel in a military assault against Iran in June 2025, striking three of the country’s nuclear sites.
Trump also recently deployed a major aircraft carrier – the USS Abraham Lincoln – and other military assets to the Middle East as he threatened to attack the country over its recent crackdown on antigovernment protests.
“It’s a different world,” said Hashem, referring to how the atmosphere today compares to what was witnessed in the leadup to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. “This is a negotiation [now] that’s coming after a war in June and in parallel with military pressure.”
Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew in from the Iranian nuclear agreement, under which Tehran had agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions.
The Loyalty to the Resistance
bloc in Lebanon’s Parliament says in a statement that “Iran’s firm and
resilient stance will enable it to withstand any potential aggression.”
It said that if the US starts a war against Iran, it will not be able to control the consequences in the region, and that the conflict will turn into a war that will engulf the entire Middle East.
A short while ago, the Israeli army began attacking what it says are Hezbollah targets in disparate regions of Lebanon. The Lebanese group is a close ally of Iran’s government.
Iranian Press TV has quoted a
member of the country’s negotiating team as saying the topic of tomorrow’s
discussions in Oman’s will be the nuclear issues.
The official said the result of the talks will only become clear after they happen, not ahead of time.
As we’ve been reporting, the US has been pushing for the issue of Iranian ballistic missiles to be discussed during Friday’s meetings despite opposition from Iranian officials.
By: Kimberly Halkett
Reporting from Washington, DC
The United States is eager to return to what they see as an agreed-upon format because that agreed-upon format includes issues broader than what the US understands Iran is willing to discuss in this initial set of talks.
What we know, as of the last hour, is that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have touched down in Doha.
Qatar is instrumental in trying to work along with other regional partners, including Egypt, in trying to facilitate these talks.
We understand, according to a White House official, that this is perhaps part of the reason for the visit – to try and work with Qatar in an effort to try and get Iran to expand and build upon the format of these talks.
By: Ali Hashem
Reporting from Tehran, Iran
Yesterday, during the evening hours, there was a lot of scepticism about whether the meeting was going to happen. Now we know that, at 10am tomorrow Oman time [06:00 GMT], the foreign minister of Iran and the American officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are going to meet there.
They are going to discuss mainly the nuclear programme, per Iranian reports. However, we are waiting to see whether this is going to go towards more discussions, wider discussions, a regional presence in these negotiations, or if it’s going to finish on the same day.
There are too many issues to discuss. Even when it comes to only the nuclear programme, there are so many issues that it wouldn’t be enough for one day to wrap everything, and that’s why everyone is expecting that this is going to take some time.
Now, what’s the deadline President Trump has set for a deal to be reached? Whether the Iranians are going to accept the American conditions, and whether the US is going to take into consideration the Iranian reservations, these are all issues that people are watching.
Much of Iran’s nuclear
capabilities were destroyed in US and Israeli bombings in 2025, but there
remains “some capability deep below ground”, as well as “technical knowledge
for enrichment of uranium”, Susi Snyder, the director of programs at the
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, tells Al Jazeera.
“Iran has not yet achieved a significant quantity of enriched materials for nuclear weapons, and is still quite a bit away from nuclear devices,” she said via video link from Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
She stressed that it is important to separate the ballistic missile programme and its nuclear capabilities. Israel has frequently made public its desire to remove, either by force or by negotiation, Iran’s ability to produce and launch these weapons.
“There is no global ban on ballistic missiles; however, it would contribute to regional stability and security if all countries in the region could come together and talk about it and not simply put the onus on Iran itself,” she said.
“What this needs to do at this point is open up a pathway for global inspectors… to re-enter Iran,” she said.
France’s Foreign Minister
Jean-Noel Barrot says the country supports “all diplomatic efforts aimed at
finding a negotiated solution that respects our security interests and the most
fundamental rights of the Iranian people”.
Christine Maguire, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours and Nils Adler
- Talks between Iran and the United States will take place in Oman on Friday.
- Mediators from Qatar, Turkiye and Egypt have presented Iran and the US with a framework of key principles to be discussed in the talks, two sources have told Al Jazeera.
- The talks come as the region braces for a potential US attack on Iran after US President Donald Trump ordered forces to amass in the Arabian Sea following a violent crackdown by Iran on protesters last month.
‘Context
of Friday’s talks very different from 2015 nuclear deal negotiations’
The US joined its ally Israel in a military assault against Iran in June 2025, striking three of the country’s nuclear sites.
Trump also recently deployed a major aircraft carrier – the USS Abraham Lincoln – and other military assets to the Middle East as he threatened to attack the country over its recent crackdown on antigovernment protests.
“It’s a different world,” said Hashem, referring to how the atmosphere today compares to what was witnessed in the leadup to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. “This is a negotiation [now] that’s coming after a war in June and in parallel with military pressure.”
Trump in 2018 unilaterally withdrew in from the Iranian nuclear agreement, under which Tehran had agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions.
Political
wing of Hezbollah says attack on Iran would mean regional war
It said that if the US starts a war against Iran, it will not be able to control the consequences in the region, and that the conflict will turn into a war that will engulf the entire Middle East.
A short while ago, the Israeli army began attacking what it says are Hezbollah targets in disparate regions of Lebanon. The Lebanese group is a close ally of Iran’s government.
Iranian
negotiator says talks to focus on nuclear issue: Iran TV
The official said the result of the talks will only become clear after they happen, not ahead of time.
As we’ve been reporting, the US has been pushing for the issue of Iranian ballistic missiles to be discussed during Friday’s meetings despite opposition from Iranian officials.
Trump
advisers in Qatar likely to discuss format of talks
Reporting from Washington, DC
The United States is eager to return to what they see as an agreed-upon format because that agreed-upon format includes issues broader than what the US understands Iran is willing to discuss in this initial set of talks.
What we know, as of the last hour, is that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have touched down in Doha.
Qatar is instrumental in trying to work along with other regional partners, including Egypt, in trying to facilitate these talks.
We understand, according to a White House official, that this is perhaps part of the reason for the visit – to try and work with Qatar in an effort to try and get Iran to expand and build upon the format of these talks.
‘Depth
of issues between Iran, US likely need more than one day of talks’
Reporting from Tehran, Iran
Yesterday, during the evening hours, there was a lot of scepticism about whether the meeting was going to happen. Now we know that, at 10am tomorrow Oman time [06:00 GMT], the foreign minister of Iran and the American officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are going to meet there.
They are going to discuss mainly the nuclear programme, per Iranian reports. However, we are waiting to see whether this is going to go towards more discussions, wider discussions, a regional presence in these negotiations, or if it’s going to finish on the same day.
There are too many issues to discuss. Even when it comes to only the nuclear programme, there are so many issues that it wouldn’t be enough for one day to wrap everything, and that’s why everyone is expecting that this is going to take some time.
Now, what’s the deadline President Trump has set for a deal to be reached? Whether the Iranians are going to accept the American conditions, and whether the US is going to take into consideration the Iranian reservations, these are all issues that people are watching.
‘Iran
is still quite a bit away from nuclear devices’
“Iran has not yet achieved a significant quantity of enriched materials for nuclear weapons, and is still quite a bit away from nuclear devices,” she said via video link from Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
She stressed that it is important to separate the ballistic missile programme and its nuclear capabilities. Israel has frequently made public its desire to remove, either by force or by negotiation, Iran’s ability to produce and launch these weapons.
“There is no global ban on ballistic missiles; however, it would contribute to regional stability and security if all countries in the region could come together and talk about it and not simply put the onus on Iran itself,” she said.
“What this needs to do at this point is open up a pathway for global inspectors… to re-enter Iran,” she said.
France’s
foreign minister voices support for diplomatic efforts
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