Since Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, indirect negotiations that had been taking place between the US and Iran to exchange detainees and release the latter's frozen assets in South Korea and revenue from oil and gas sales in Iraq froze for a few months.
They picked up again in January when the two countries held secret talks in the Omani capital of Muscat to de-escalate Red Sea tensions and encourage Iran to pressure the Houthis to stop their attacks on global shipping there. A few days ago, the Axios website revealed that US and Iranian officials met again in Muscat to discuss how to avoid further escalation in the region.
Despite growing regional tensions, the US and Iran continue to be in indirect communication through countries like Oman, Qatar, and Switzerland—the latter overseeing US interests in Tehran and Iranian interests in Washington.
Talks between the two countries have pivoted away from Iran's nuclear programme, as both sides acknowledge that a deal similar to the JCPOA brokered by the Obama administration and torn up by Trump cannot be reinstated. Instead, talks have focused on regional security, given Iran's outsized influence over militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Apart from these indirect discussions, reports of direct negotiations between the parties within the halls of the United Nations in New York have been leaked. Since 7 October and Israel's subsequent war on Gaza, it has been clear that both parties are not interested in expanding the conflict into a wider regional war.
Neglected states
Having said that, it seems that from the ongoing military exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel, this aspect of the conflict has not been fully addressed in the US-Iran talks.
