Mideast mediator Oman at the center of a key first Iran-US meeting over Tehran's nuclear program

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Once again, some of the highest stakes in Middle East geopolitics will be discussed in this quiet coastal city without skyscrapers.

Here in Muscat, the capital of Oman nestled against the sheer stone heights of the Hajar Mountains, Iran and the United States will meet for talks over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program for the first time since President Donald Trump began his second term.

No agreement is immediately likely, but the stakes of the negotiations couldn't be higher for these two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

And at the center is Oman, one of the world's last sultanates on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Its unique history, people and proximity to Iran have made it indispensable for the West as it has held discussion after discussion for Iran. But these latest talks — suddenly announced by Trump in the Oval Office just days earlier — have put Oman firmly into a spotlight it otherwise seeks to avoid.

“The Omanis have a lot of experience when it comes to playing this back-channel role,” said Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO and founder of the Washington-based risk analysis firm Gulf State Analytics. “I think that right now in this day and age of Trump 2.0, the stakes are really high and it’s important for us to understand the value of Oman being a diplomatic bridge.”

Oman, home to 5.2 million people across an arid country just larger than Italy, stands out among the Gulf Arab states. Its oil and gas wealth is marginal by comparison, and its citizens outnumber its population of foreign workers. Omanis can be found working normal jobs from taxi cabs to offices. And its people are Ibadi Muslims, a more liberal offshoot of Islam predating the Sunni-Shiite split.

They occupy a strategic location along the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil passes.

And Oman is a former empire whose seafaring rule once stretched all the way down to the island of Zanzibar off Africa. That history extends into how it deals with the wider world, said Marc J. O’Reilly, a history professor at Heidelberg University in Ohio.

It is a path O'Reilly referred to as “Omanibalancing” over 25 years ago — and one that still works today for the sultanate after the 2020 death of its longtime ruler Sultan Qaboos bin Said and the installation of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

Oman is “the master of quiet diplomacy," O’Reilly said. “I think they are proud of that, the Omanis, they know that's their reputation.”

That has been tested in recent years, however. Oman maintains diplomatic ties to Yemen's Houthi rebels, now being bombed in an intense airstrike campaign by the Trump administration. Oman's ties to Iran, cemented when Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi sent troops in the 1970s to help put down the Dhofar Rebellion in the country, have been maintained since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

America has relied on Oman for years to negotiate with Iran, including secret talks under President Barack Obama that led to the 2015 nuclear deal Iran had with world powers.

“Certainly, I think they are, I think on the whole, very easy to deal with in a region where that is not the norm,” O'Reilly said.

This round of talks is unlike those that came before. The first challenge Oman faces is just how public they are. Muscat typically relies on discretion in how they handle diplomatic relations, a holdover from an earlier age of Gulf Arab rule.

Their neighbors today in comparison go relatively public with their diplomacy — like Qatar's role in negotiations with Afghanistan's Taliban, Saudi Arabia hosting the Russia-U.S. talks and the United Arab Emirates just mediating a Russia-U.S. prisoner swap. So far, Oman's state-run media, which dominates the sultanate, has remained silent about Saturday's talks.

“Oman typically prefers not making too many headlines,” Cafiero said. “Oman prefers diplomacy that’s not at the forefront of the news but is still effective.”

Then there's the expectations of the two sides. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi maintains the negotiations will begin as indirect talks, likely with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi passing messages between Tehran and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. Trump has maintained the talks will be direct. While not a major roadblock, it signals the challenge the negotiations face — particularly after years of indirect talks during the Biden administration went nowhere.

And while the U.S. side can offer sanctions relief for Iran's beleaguered economy, it remains unclear just how much Iran will be willing to concede. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran could only maintain a small stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.67%. Today, Tehran's stockpile could allow it to build multiple nuclear weapons if it so chooses and it has some material enriched up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Judging from negotiations since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal in 2018, Iran will likely ask to keep enriching uranium up to at least 20%.

One thing it won't do is give up its program entirely. That makes the proposal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a so-called Libyan solution — “you go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision, American execution” — unworkable.

Iranians including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have held up what ultimately happened to the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed with his own gun by rebels in the country's 2011 Arab Spring uprising, as a warning about what can happen when you trust the United States.

Already, a top adviser for Khamenei, Ali Shamkhani, has warned what could happen if the U.S. continues to threaten Tehran, including Iran expelling inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency and ending cooperation with the U.N. watchdog.

“The transfer of enriched material to a secure location could also be considered,” he added, opening the door again to Iran having secret, undeclared nuclear sites as it did when the crisis over its program began over 20 years ago.

But Majid Takht-e Ravanch, a deputy Iranian foreign minister, offered a more positive note Friday.

“If the American side refrains from raising unrelated issues and demands — and abandons threats and intimidation — there is a good opportunity to reach an agreement," Takht-e Ravanch said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

A group of Omani individuals walks in formation along a pathway framed by the rugged cliffs of Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Visitors and locals gather at the Mutrah Corniche in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk through Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, second right, listens to head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami as he visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, second right, listens to head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami as he visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

The second murder trial began Tuesday for Karen Read, who is accused of causing the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend but whose supporters contend is being framed for a murder she didn’t commit.

Prosecutors say Read backed her SUV into John O’Keefe after dropping him off at a party and returned hours later to find him dead. Defense attorneys say she was a victim of a conspiracy involving the police and they plan, as they did in the first trial, to offer evidence pointing to the real killer.

Nine men and nine women were chosen to serve as the 12 jurors and six alternates.

Read has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene. A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse. The second trial will look much like the first, with the same judge, many of the same witnesses and several of the prominent defense attorneys.

Read had worked as a financial analyst and a Bentley College adjunct professor before being charged in the death of O’Keefe, who was 46 when he died. The 16-year police veteran was found unresponsive outside the home of a fellow Boston police officer.

After a night out drinking, prosecutors say Read, who is 45, dropped O’Keefe at the house party just after midnight. As she made a three-point turn, prosecutors say, she struck O’Keefe before driving away. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.

As at the first trial, prosecutors will try to convince jurors that Read’s actions were intentional. They are expected to call witnesses who will describe how the couple's relationship had begun to sour before O'Keefe's death, including his brother and sister-in-law, who testified that Read told her the couple had argued in Aruba after she caught O’Keefe kissing another woman.

The defense is expected to portray the investigation into O’Keefe’s death as shoddy and undermined by the close relationship investigators had with the police officers and other law enforcement agents who were at the house party.

Among the key witnesses they will call is former State Trooper Michael Proctor, who led the investigation but has since been fired after a disciplinary board found he sent sexist and crude texts about Read to his family and colleagues. He is also on the prosecution's witness list.

Proctor’s testimony was a key moment during the first trial, when the defense suggested his texts about Read and the case showed he was biased and had singled her out early in the investigation, ignoring other potential suspects.

They also are expected to suggest Read was framed, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the home during a fight with another partygoer and then dragged outside. In the first trial, defense attorneys suggested investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who saved them from having to consider law enforcement officers as suspects.

Ahead of the second trial, the two sides sparred over whether Read's lawyers will be allowed to argue that someone else killed O'Keefe. Judge Beverly Cannone ruled Monday that attorneys can't mention potential third-party culprits in their opening statements but will be allowed to develop evidence against Brian Albert, a retired police officer who owned the Canton home, and his friend Brian Higgins. Lawyers cannot implicate Albert's nephew, Colin Albert, the judge said.

A town-commissioned audit of the Canton Police Department released March 30 found several mistakes with the investigation but no evidence of a cover-up. It suggested that first responders should have photographed O'Keefe where he was found before he was moved and that all interviews of “critical witnesses” should have been done at the department after O'Keefe was taken to a hospital.

Soon after the mistrial, Read's lawyers set out to get the main charges dropped.

They argued Judge Cannone declared a mistrial without polling the jurors to confirm their conclusions. Defense attorney Martin Weinberg said five jurors indicated after the trial that they were only deadlocked on the manslaughter count and had unanimously agreed that she wasn’t guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene, but that they hadn’t told the judge.

The defense said that because jurors had agreed Read wasn't guilty of murder and leaving the scene, retrying her on those counts would amount to double jeopardy. But Cannone rejected that argument, as did the state's highest court, a federal court judge, and an appeals court.

Prosecutors had urged Cannone to dismiss the double jeopardy claim, saying it amounted to "hearsay, conjecture and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.” Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally argued that the jurors never indicated they had reached a verdict on any of the charges and that the defense had ample opportunity to object to the mistrial declaration.

The second trial will likely look similar to the first. It will be held in the same courthouse before the same judge, and dozens of Read's passionate supporters are again expected to rally outside. The charges, primary defense lawyers and many of the nearly 200 witnesses will also be the same.

The biggest difference will be the lead prosecutor, Hank Brennan. A former prosecutor and defense attorney who was brought in as a special prosecutor after the mistrial, Brennan has represented several prominent clients, including notorious Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, and experts think he might be more forceful than Lally was in arguing the case.

Prosecutors are likely to rely on eyewitnesses from the scene in the early days of the trial, counting on testimony from police officers and firefighters who recalled Read making comments that implicated her in the killing.

They also are likely to introduce evidence of a broken taillight on Read’s SUV that prosecutors argue was damaged when she hit O’Keefe and possible DNA from O’Keefe found on her vehicle.

The defense’s goal is to raise doubts about the prosecution case and plant the seed that she was framed. They are expected to introduce evidence of a sloppy police investigation, including the failure to search the house and mistakes in the police log.

They also are expected to suggest that a hair found on the taillight was planted and the police investigation was marred by a conflict of interest.

Karen Read, third left, and her defense team, Victoria George, from left, David Yannetti, Read, Alan Jackson, Elizabeth Little, and Robert Alessi introduce themselves to potential jurors as jury selection continues for the murder retrial of Read, in front of Judge Beverly J. Cannone in Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)

Karen Read with her attorney Alan Jackson during jury selection in the murder trial of Read at Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Special Assistant District Attorney Hank Brennan introduces himself during jury selection in the murder trial of Karen Read at Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Karen Read's attorneys Elizabeth Little, left, and Robert Alessi introduce themselves during jury selection in the murder trial of Read at Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Attorney David Yannetti whispers into the ear of Karen Read during jury selection in the murder trial of Read at Norfolk Superior Court Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Karen Read with her attorneys David Yannetti, left, and Alan Jackson during jury selection in the murder trial of Read at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. Read is accused of striking her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in 2022. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Robert Alessi introduces himself to prospective jurors during jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Karen Read, left, speaks with her defense attorney Alan Jackson during jury selection for Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Defense attorney Alan Jackson introduces himself to prospective jurors during jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Karen Read, center, sits with her defense team during jury selection for Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Karen Read, left, and her defense team introduce themselves to prospective jurors during jury selection for Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Prosecution attorney Hank Brennan introduces himself to prospective jurors during jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Judge Beverly Cannone addresses prospective jurors during jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

Supporters of Karen Read gather prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Supporters of Karen Read gather prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

A Massachusetts State Police officer talks with supporters of Karen Read, who gathered prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read, outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Supporters of Karen Read gather prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Aidan Kearney, the blogger known as Turtleboy, walks towards court prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Supporters of Karen Read gather prior to jury selection for the trial of Karen Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Prosecution attorney Adam Lally, right, arrives for jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Prosecution attorney Hank Brennan arrives for jury selection for the trial of Karen Read at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Supporters of Karen Read gather during jury selection for the trial of Read outside Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Karen Read arrives for jury selection for her trial at Norfolk County Superior Court, Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)