Tehran, February 10, 2026 – Iran has issued a stark warning to the United States, cautioning against Israel's "destructive" interference in fragile nuclear negotiations, as diplomatic efforts resume amid lingering scars from last year's devastating war.Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei emphasized that recent talks in Oman revealed "enough consensus" to pursue diplomacy, despite the "very bad experience" of the June conflict—a 12-day air war that reshaped Middle East tensions.The Muscat meeting on Friday marked the first direct talks between Tehran and Washington in months. It came after earlier negotiations collapsed in the shadow of Israel's aggressive bombing campaign against Iran in June 2025. That operation targeted nuclear facilities, military installations, senior commanders, and even residential neighborhoods, according to Iranian officials. The U.S. soon escalated involvement, striking key nuclear sites with precision munitions. Iran retaliated fiercely, unleashing waves of drones and missiles on Israeli civilian and military targets, while hitting the massive Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar—the largest U.S. military outpost in the Middle East.
Eyewitness accounts from the war painted a grim picture. In Tehran suburbs, families huddled in basements as Israeli jets screamed overhead, leveling what Iran called "peaceful research centers." Israeli cities like Tel Aviv endured nights of sirens and explosions, with civilian casualties mounting.
Qatar's base attack disrupted U.S. operations across the Gulf, forcing temporary evacuations. The 12-day blitz killed hundreds on all sides, exposed vulnerabilities in regional defenses, and left Iran's nuclear program in tatters—or so Israel claimed.Baghaei, speaking at his weekly press conference in Tehran, described the Oman session as a cautious probe rather than a breakthrough. "The Muscat meeting was not a long meeting," he said. "In our view, it was to gauge the seriousness of the other side and how to continue this path. After the talks, we felt there was understanding and consensus to continue the diplomatic process." He stressed Iran's resolve:"The June experience was a very bad experience. Therefore, taking these experiences into account, we are determined to secure Iran’s national interests through diplomacy."Central to Tehran's strategy is a narrow focus on the nuclear issue. Baghaei reiterated that Iran rejects any talks expanding to broader topics like its regional proxies or ballistic missiles. "Our focus remains strictly on the nuclear file in return for sanctions relief," he insisted. This stance echoes Iran's long-standing position since the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which unraveled under U.S. withdrawal in 2018 and subsequent escalations.Complicating matters is Israel's vocal opposition. On Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement demanding that "any negotiations must include limitations on ballistic missiles and a halting of the support for the Iranian axis"—a reference to Tehran's network of allied militias in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. Iranian officials view this as sabotage. Baghaei directly warned: "Israel’s destructive influence must not derail the process again. We will not tolerate external meddling.
"Tehran's diplomatic push extends beyond Oman. Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, is on a regional tour to test the waters. A photo released by the council showed him meeting Oman's Minister of the Royal Office, Sultan bin Mohammed al-Numani, in Muscat. Larijani also conferred with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported. He heads next to Qatar, a key player given its hosting of the U.S. base Iran targeted last year. These visits aim to assess Washington's "seriousness," Baghaei confirmed, amid whispers of backchannel assurances from Gulf mediators.The timing of these talks is no coincidence. They follow fresh U.S. threats and the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf last month. That buildup responded to Iran's brutal crackdown on widespread anti-government protests, which erupted in late December over economic woes, corruption, and women's rights.
Monitoring groups, including human rights organizations, estimate at least 7,000 deaths—most during the bloody days of January 8 and 9—with the true toll possibly triple that. Over 50,000 detentions have been reported, alongside an unprecedented month-long internet blackout that shrouded the full scale of the violence.Protests began as spontaneous rallies in cities like Isfahan and Mashhad, fueled by skyrocketing inflation (over 40% annually) and youth unemployment nearing 30%. Security forces unleashed live fire, tear gas, and mass arrests, drawing international condemnation. Satellite imagery revealed bulldozed protest sites, while exiled activists shared smuggled videos of executions. The blackout, enforced via state-controlled firewalls, isolated Iran further, crippling businesses and amplifying fears of hidden atrocities.U.S. officials have tied sanctions relief to Iran's domestic crackdown, but Tehran dismisses this as interference.
"Our internal affairs are non-negotiable," Baghaei snapped during the briefing. Analysts see the Oman talks as a high-stakes gamble: Iran seeks economic lifelines amid sanctions biting harder post-war, while Washington eyes curbing nuclear ambitions before they rebound.Regional powers watch warily. Oman, a neutral broker, has hosted secret U.S.-Iran talks since 2021. Qatar, despite the base strike, maintains ties with both sides, balancing Al Jazeera's critical coverage with economic pragmatism. Israel's shadow looms largest—its June strikes, dubbed "Operation Iron Fist," were hailed domestically as preemptive but criticized globally for civilian tolls.As Larijani's shuttle diplomacy unfolds, optimism tempers caution. "Diplomacy is our path forward," Baghaei concluded, "but only if partners match our seriousness." For now, the Gulf's fragile calm holds, but one misstep—Israeli saber-rattling, U.S. carrier maneuvers, or proxy flare-ups—could reignite the powder keg.
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