The Geopolitics of a Venue Change
The First Instance: Oman's Discreet Diplomacy Oman's role as a discreet intermediary for U.S.-Iran talks is hardly new. Covert negotiations between the U.S. and Iran took place in Muscat as early as **2012**, preceding the formal P5+1 talks that eventually led to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (BBC News, 2013). These initial discussions, often held without public fanfare,
allowed both sides to explore common ground away from the glare of international media and the pressures of more public forums. The outcome then was a breakthrough that paved the way for the most significant nuclear deal in decades. Repetitions: Bypassing Regional Agendas Fast forward, and the pattern repeats. In **2021**, during renewed efforts to revive the JCPOA following the Trump
administration's withdrawal, Oman again played a crucial role in facilitating indirect talks (Al Jazeera, 2021). The choice of Oman consistently signals a desire to circumscribe the agenda, focusing strictly on the nuclear file, and to exclude peripheral issues or regional actors who might complicate negotiations. Turkey, while a neutral ground, often seeks to elevate its own regional influence by
hosting multilateral dialogues, something Iran aims to avoid in these sensitive bilateral discussions. The Outcomes: Controlled Environments, Focused Agendas Each time, the move to Oman has allowed Iran to enforce a tighter interpretive framework for the talks. By pushing for a *strictly bilateral* and *solely nuclear* agenda, Iran effectively seeks to decouple these discussions from its broader