MUSCAT, Oman—Senior officials from Iran and the U.S. gathered in Oman for talks over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program on Friday, hoping to avert a new conflict in the Middle East amid an American military buildup in the region.
The meeting, the first for the countries since the 12-day war in June with Israel that ended with an American bombing raid on nuclear sites, comes as the U.S. again has amassed air and naval forces near Iran and is threatening to strike over Tehran’s nuclear program.
President Trump wants to see if a deal can be struck in Friday’s talks, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said late Thursday, but she warned that Trump has many options at his disposal besides diplomacy.
“This is the most dangerous time in the bilateral relationship in the 40-plus years I’ve been following Iran,” said Alan Eyre, a former senior U.S. diplomat and nuclear negotiator with Iran. “The possible downsides to a wrong move are commensurately high.”
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for the talks.
The delegation will also include Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, according to a U.S. official. While it isn’t typical for Defense Department officials to join high-level diplomatic talks, Trump has dispatched senior military leaders to negotiations during his tenure.
The U.S. wants Tehran to stop enriching uranium, curb its ballistic missile program and end its support for regional proxies. Iran has said it is willing to discuss only its nuclear work.
Fernando Ferreira, a geopolitical analyst at Washington-based consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group said that while Trump appears genuinely interested in a deal, the gap with Iran is still too wide to allow an offramp from conflict.
Iran is returning to the table in a position of weakness. Its enrichment equipment was either destroyed by U.S. and Israeli strikes last June or buried under tons of rubble. Protests earlier this year posed the greatest challenge to the regime in its half-century in power and were only put down with brutal force that left thousands dead. The country’s economy is in shambles, with its currency spiraling to new lows amid the threat of new conflict.
But Iran’s top leaders are digging in, showing little readiness to compromise on the core issue of ending uranium enrichment and threatening to trigger a regional war if the U.S. attacks.
The U.S. is also taking a hard line, saying late Thursday it wants Iran’s nuclear program gone forever.
Late Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted topics for the talks should include Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for its regional militia allies like Hezbollah and Hamas, and human rights.
Even the timing, location and scope of the talks have been points of contention.
On Tuesday, Iran launched a drone at an American aircraft carrier and sent gunboats to harass a U.S.-flagged oil tanker, prompting speculation the meeting might be called off.
Iranian officials also balked at the initially agreed upon venue for the talks—in Turkey—and their format—a regional gathering to discuss nuclear issues but also missiles and militia support.
A compromise was found with the meeting in Oman.
The back and forth over procedural matters “shows how difficult it will be to bridge the gaps on substance,” said Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group.
Regional officials and many analysts said their expectations for the meeting are low, and some are resigned to an inevitable strike.
“The best possible outcome is announcing a follow-on meeting,” said Eyre, the ex-U.S. diplomat.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@wsj.com