Iranian military front company masked identity to sell oil, documents show

The talks, facilitated by Omani officials and held behind closed doors in Muscat, come amid escalating rhetoric from both capitals and ahead of a high-stakes Middle East trip by US President Donald Trump.

Before departing for Muscat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had submitted a proposal intended to reassure the international community of the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. He warned, however, that the talks would fail if the United States continues to push beyond nuclear weapon-related commitments.

“If demands exceed assurances against nuclear weapons, the talks could stall,” Araghchi told reporters in Tehran. “We hope the other side comes with a clear negotiating logic. Talks should remain at the table, not in the press.”

He added, "Iran has well-known positions based on clear principles... We hope to reach a decisive stance in Sunday's meeting.”

Araghchi also accused the United States of adopting contradictory positions. “There are actors pushing for conflict—we understand this, but it is their problem,” he said. “If there are concerns, we are ready to build trust.”

The latest discussions follow weeks of diplomatic shuttle visits and were initially scheduled to take place in Rome on May 3 but were postponed for logistical reasons.

Iran has emphasized that its delegation is operating “in accordance with directives and frameworks issued by the country’s decision-making hierarchy,” according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

“The team is committed to preserving Iran’s valuable achievements in peaceful nuclear energy while pursuing the removal of unjust economic sanctions,” he said.

Tensions have mounted in recent days following comments by US envoy Steven Witkoff, who told Breitbart News last week that Washington's red line remains “no enrichment,” effectively calling for the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.

Iranian state media and outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reacted sharply to Witkoff’s remarks. The hardline Javan newspaper dismissed them as coercive, saying: “This is no longer called negotiation, it’s a stick.”

A member of Iran’s negotiating team told Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen network that Tehran would walk away if the US deviates from previously agreed frameworks.

A separate source quoted by Iraq’s Baghdad Al-Youm said the talks could “fail before they even begin” if Washington refuses to acknowledge Iran’s right to peaceful uranium enrichment.

Iran, which has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful, says it will not relinquish its enrichment capabilities. “The blood of our nuclear scientists has been shed for enrichment. This right is not negotiable,” Araghchi said before leaving for Muscat on Sunday.

Iran has accelerated its enrichment activities since 2019, exceeding limits set under the 2015 nuclear deal, which the US exited unilaterally in 2018. The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed Iran’s enrichment of uranium to levels approaching weapons-grade, a move Tehran says is reversible if sanctions are lifted and credible guarantees are provided.

Trump has signaled openness to a diplomatic resolution but also warned of potential military action if diplomacy fails.

Trump is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates from May 13 to 16. Analysts say the outcome of the Muscat talks could influence the trajectory of regional diplomacy and the future of Iran-US engagement.

“Your judgment is right,” Khamenei told the crowd after they chanted the slogan during a speech in Tehran.

“Americans fully support Israel — in the true sense of the word,” he added. “In the world of politics, things may be said that suggest otherwise, but that is not the reality.”

The remarks come as Tehran prepares to begin a fourth round of talks with the US on Sunday. Khamenei used the same platform to frame Israel’s campaign in Gaza as part of a broader Western war effort. “The people of Gaza are not facing Israel alone—they are facing America and Britain,” he said.

Hardline rhetoric extended into Iran’s state-aligned press. Kayhan, a daily overseen by Khamenei’s office, published a full-page commentary portraying Donald Trump as emblematic of US power.

“Trump is not a passing phenomenon,” the paper wrote. “He is a framework based on narcissism, superiority delusions, and threat-based tactics.” The editorial warned against mistaking diplomatic outreach for sincerity, calling American gestures “a tool for deception, not an indication of true boundaries.”

In Washington, Trump’s envoy to the talks set out maximalist conditions for a deal. “An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line,” Steve Witkoff told Breitbart News on Friday. “No enrichment. That means dismantlement.”

Witkoff said Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan must be completely dismantled, and warned that if Sunday’s discussions are “not productive, then they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route.” He added, “They cannot have centrifuges, they cannot have anything that allows them to build a weapon.”

Iran’s Islamic Republic newspaper on Saturday questioned the absence despite Tehran’s growing alignment with Moscow and ongoing coordination on nuclear talks with the United States.

“Despite Putin’s boasts of friendship with Iran, Iran was missing from the ceremony where he thanked North Korean soldiers for supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine,” the paper wrote, referring to the Friday parade in Moscow marking the Soviet and allied victory over Nazi Germany.

More than two dozen world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korea’s top military officials, attended the event alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian did not attend, and no high-level Iranian delegation was publicly present. In February, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, told TASS he would attend the event in his diplomatic capacity, but said participation by senior Iranian officials was still under discussion.

Iranian-made drones

The parade, one of Russia’s most politically symbolic events, featured a display of drones used in Ukraine, including the Geran-2 — a loitering munition based on Iranian designs. Their inclusion underscored growing military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, even as Iran denies supplying drones for battlefield use.

The absence of senior Iranian officials drew attention in Tehran, where Russia is regarded as a strategic partner and a channel for backdoor diplomacy. Both Iranian and US officials have been in contact with Russian intermediaries in recent weeks as indirect nuclear talks continue.

The Kremlin has also positioned itself as a go-between, with Moscow agreeing to help the US communicate with Iran on its nuclear program and regional activities, according to a Bloomberg report in March, later confirmed by the Kremlin.

Despite this, some Iranian officials and analysts are voicing concern. Former Iranian ambassador to Russia Nematollah Izadi warned that Russia “cannot be an impartial mediator,” citing its own geopolitical stakes in US–Iran tensions.

“They are eager to mediate, but whether they can do so effectively is doubtful,” he told ILNA news agency in March. “They have their own interests. If Iran fails to maintain balance, all its foreign policy eggs will end up in Russia’s basket—and most likely China’s as well.”

Russia and Iran recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement covering defense, energy, and trade. Yet, the Islamic Republic paper warned that appearances like Iran’s absence at the Victory Day parade risk making the partnership appear one-sided.

The showy kingpin's sensitive interventions into the negotiations, through social media statements in his own name and high stakes leaks by his multi-lingual media outlet, signal he is determined to remain at the heart of diplomacy.

Though no longer officially at the helm of Iran's top security apparatus, Shamkhani retains considerable sway as a political adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council.

His tenure as security chief ended in May 2023, but Nour News - the multilingual media outlet he founded in 2020 - ensured his public profile would continue to loom large.

Shamkhani and Tehran-Washington talks

Shamkhani’s comments are frequently picked up by Iranian and foreign media outlets, turning his posts into unofficial barometers of Tehran’s policy direction.

A prolific user of the social media platform X, Shamkhani regularly posts in a range of languages—Persian, English, Hebrew, Russian, and Chinese—indicating his wish to be recognized by international audience as an insider with close knowledge of the talks.

Ahead of the first round of indirect Tehran-Washington negotiations in Muscat last month, Shamkhani made headlines by declaring that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would attend the talks “with full authority.”

The phrasing, widely interpreted as confirmation that Araghchi was carrying a full mandate from Supreme Leader Khamenei himself, was seen as a rare public affirmation of Iran’s seriousness about reaching an agreement.

More recently, Shamkhani said that both the US intelligence community and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had come to accept that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons.

“Both are determined to continue on the right path of talks,” he wrote in several languages, adding, “Sanction removal and recognition of Iran’s right to industrial enrichment can guarantee a deal.”

His statement appeared to be a response to comments by US Vice President J.D. Vance, which suggest Washington would permit low-level Iranian enrichment.

The tone of Shamkhani’s post suggested a softening of stance and marked a contrast between his earlier, more hardline tone and this new language suggesting diplomatic flexibility.

Shamkhani was among the officials who strongly supported a law that the Parliament passed in December 2020 against the wishes of then-president Hassan Rouhani--- named the Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect the Nation's Interests.

The legislation required Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity—well above the 3.67 percent limit set by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—and to install advanced centrifuges.

Nour News

Much of Shamkhani’s media influence flows through Nour News, a news outlet linked closely to his political network. Launched in Persian in early 2020 and later expanded into English, Arabic and Hebrew, Nour News plays an outsized role in shaping news on Iran’s nuclear talks.

The site frequently publishes exclusive reports on nuclear talks and other matters, often citing anonymous “informed sources.” These reports are widely shared by both domestic and international media, reinforcing the outlet’s reputation as a semi-official voice.

But the interventions have been less welcome at home.

Nour News cited an anonymous source saying the fourth round of talks would focus on “humanitarian and security concerns," without elaborating, suggesting discussions had expanded beyond the nuclear dossier—a detail never disclosed by negotiators.

“Agencies and esteemed officials who receive classified reports must protect them. Leaking information to favored outlets undermines national interests,” retorted Mohammad Hossein Ranjbaran, an adviser to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.

“There’s a difference between building media credibility and childish competition for scoops."

Skeletons in the closet

Shamkhani’s interventions could be aimed at repairing his stature after espionage and corruption controversies dented his reputation.

His departure from the SNSC in May 2023 came amid the fallout from one of the most sensitive espionage cases in the Islamic Republic’s recent history.

In January of that year, Iran executed Alireza Akbari, a dual British-Iranian national and former deputy defense minister on charges of spying for the United Kingdom.

Akbari had long been known as a close associate and adviser to Shamkhani, raising questions about internal security breaches at the highest levels of the Iranian state.

Though authorities never directly linked Shamkhani to Akbari’s alleged espionage, the execution cast a pall over his continued leadership of the SNSC.

Shamkhani has also faced persistent allegations of corruption, particularly concerning his family's business dealings. These ventures have been linked to circumventing US sanctions by facilitating oil exports through so-called ghost fleets.

Some warn that President Donald Trump is unpredictable and may change course at any moment; others go further, calling the talks a trap. There are even accusations of insider sabotage, with fingers pointed at those said to benefit from continued sanctions.

What are the doubters saying?

“The US government will block the lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil sales and international banking,” vocal conservative analyst Foad Izadi asserted in an interview with the Didban Iran news outlet on Thursday.

Even if a deal is signed, Izadi warned, meaningful sanctions relief is unlikely because an entrenched hawkish faction in Washington is at work to undermine any agreement.

Recent comments by President Trump and his team—along with interventions from the likes of Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Mike Lawler—appear to have deepened concerns in Tehran, pushing hardliners like Izadi to break their begrudging silence.

“The Americans may attack Iran even in the middle of talks or afterward if they believe the costs of doing so are minimal. They did the same to Libya,” the US-educated pundit added.

What's the connection to Libya?

Slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi gave up the North African nation’s nuclear and missile program in 2003 to improve ties with the West.

But in Tehran’s view he was betrayed once popular protests broke out in 2010, morphing into an armed revolution backed by NATO air strikes culminating in Gadaffi's grisly killing by rebels.

“Some Iranian politicians believe that if we abandon our nuclear and missile development programs, the US will treat us as favorably as it treats Saudi Arabia,” former MP Elias Naderan told Khabar Online on Thursday.

“But in reality, they will treat us just as they treated Syria and Libya.”

As long as the Islamic Republic is in conflict with Israel, there will be no rapprochement with the United States, Naderan asserted.

His comments signal a return to older hardline rhetoric that equates disarmament with vulnerability in the face of unwavering hostility from the US, hastening the downfall of the theocracy.

Who is being accused of sabotage?

Some moderate and centrist are accusing former security chief Ali Shamkhani of leaking confidential details about the ongoing talks.

The accusations have found more relevance because Shamkhani’s son is allegedly involved in exports of Iranian oil and his business could suffer, according to his critics, if sanctions are lifted.

Earlier this week, a website with links to Shamkhani published a report with some details from the ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington—including a claim that the US government had accepted that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons.

“Shamkhani’s disclosure … has fueled pressure from US neoconservatives on Trump and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, thereby jeopardizing the negotiations,” centrist outlet Entekhab wrote in an editorial.

What do the critiques mean?

While Tehran continues its cautious diplomatic engagement with Washington, these public statements reflect a fractured elite struggling to agree on whether diplomacy is a shield or a trap.

The resurfacing of Libya parallels, warnings about war, and accusations of sabotage all point to a deeper anxiety about the outcome of the talks—and the fate of the Islamic Republic.