AFTER several weeks of tension in the region, the US and Iran are due to return to the negotiating table in the days ahead. Though the talks were initially scheduled in Turkiye, Oman will now reportedly serve as the new venue of the parleys.

This is indeed a welcome development and a step back from the brink for all sides. Yet we must be under no illusion; the threat of a conflict continues to exist and unless all participants, particularly the US, engage in good faith, the danger of a devastating regional war has yet to pass.

The Iranian president has given the green light for “fair and equitable negotiations” in an environment “free from threats and unreasonable expectations”. His US counterpart Donald Trump, meanwhile, has sent mixed messages about the prospect of talks. Pakistan is also reportedly due to attend the negotiations.

Assuming the talks go ahead, it will be naïve to expect an immediate breakthrough, as both sides have diametrically opposed positions. Yet diplomacy is always preferable to war, and perhaps these parleys can lay the groundwork for more substantive talks. However, if the US insists on its maximalist demands — that Iran stop its nuclear activities, give up its ballistic missile arsenal, and suspend support for regional allies such as Hezbollah and the Houthis — then the fate of the talks may already have been sealed. In fact, there are credible reports that Israel is pushing the US to insist on these demands.

While Iran is willing to discuss the nuclear issue, its missile programme and relations with regional armed groups are off the table. Hence, the US should not bow to Israeli pressure, and go into the negotiations without setting preconditions. A good place to start would be resurrecting the 2015 nuclear agreement, which Mr Trump tore up in 2018.

There is a lot riding on the scheduled talks. Diplomats from around the region have been crisscrossing capitals in order to avoid war. The US has not helped by amassing thousands of additional troops and military hardware around Iran’s frontiers. All regional states know that war would be devastating for the global economy, and stability in the region, hence the shuttle diplomacy.

The Iranian supreme leader has himself said that an American attack would trigger a regional war, and there is reason to heed his words. It is therefore hoped that diplomacy wins the day. President Trump should approach the Iranians with respect and an open mind, and not give in to the pressure his Zionist and neocon allies are surely applying on him to ‘get’ Iran this time when the Islamic Republic appears to be weak internally and externally. If the negotiations fail, the whole region may be consumed by a terrifying inferno.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2026