Muscat / Washington / Vienna — Oman’s foreign minister announced Friday that ongoing US–Iran nuclear negotiations have produced what he described as a significant breakthrough, including agreement on “zero stockpiling” of enriched uranium and the down-blending of existing reserves under international supervision.
Speaking to CBS, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi expressed optimism about the trajectory of diplomacy.
“I am confident that a peace deal is within our reach,” Albusaidi said, provided negotiations are given “the space it needs to get there.”
“Never, Ever” a Nuclear Weapon
Albusaidi characterized the reported understanding as a departure from previous frameworks, including the 2015 agreement negotiated under former US President Barack Obama.
“The single most important achievement, I believe, is the agreement that Iran will never, ever have a nuclear material that will create a bomb,” he said, calling the arrangement “something completely new.”
According to Albusaidi, negotiators have reached consensus on “zero accumulation, zero stockpiling, and full verification” by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — a formula he described as making debates over enrichment levels “less relevant.”
Handling Existing Uranium Stockpiles
Addressing concerns over Iran’s current enriched uranium reserves, Albusaidi said a mechanism has been agreed upon to neutralize those materials.
“There is agreement now that this will be down-blended to the lowest-level possible … and converted into fuel, and that fuel will be irreversible,” he said, adding, “I think we have agreement on that, in my view.”
He further noted that if a final deal is concluded, it would include “full and comprehensive verification by the IAEA,” and suggested that US inspectors could potentially gain access “at some point in the process” if the agreement proves durable.
Timeline and Technical Talks
Albusaidi indicated that broader political components of an agreement “can be agreed tomorrow,” with technical discussions scheduled to continue in Vienna. Implementation measures — including stockpile conversion, verification, and inspection access — could be completed within “90 days,” he said.
“I don’t think any alternative to diplomacy is going to solve this problem,” Albusaidi warned, arguing that military action would only “complicate resolving this problem and delay it.”
Rising Regional Pressure
His remarks come amid a reinforced US military presence in the Persian Gulf and renewed warnings from Washington about potential action if Iran does not curb its nuclear and missile programs and limit support for regional allies.
Tehran, for its part, has accused the United States and ‘Israel’ of manufacturing pretexts for intervention and regime change. Iranian officials have warned they would respond to any military strike — even a limited one — while maintaining that sanctions relief must accompany any constraints on their nuclear activities.