Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi is scheduled to meet with Vice President JD Vance and other U.S. officials in Washington on Friday for previously unreported talks in an effort to stave off war with Iran.
The scheduled meeting comes after special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met on Thursday in Geneva with Al Busaidi, the mediator in the recent indirect Iran-U.S. talks, who facilitated the exchange of notes and information between the two sides.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, will travel to Israel on Monday and Tuesday for what the State Department described on Friday as discussions on “a range of regional priorities including Iran, Lebanon, and ongoing efforts to implement President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan for Gaza.”
The trip comes on the heels of the State Department authorizing the departure of non-emergency personnel and their family members from the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem “due to safety risks.”
The high-stakes meeting in Washington on Friday between Al Busaidi and Vance comes as Trump continues his threats of military force against Iran if the talks falter. Trump has not sought congressional authorization for a military strike, angering Democrats, as his administration prepares for direct conflict with Iran.
Vance insisted Thursday evening in an interview with The Washington Post that the United States was not about to enter into a years-long war with Iran — despite warnings from Pentagon officials and members of Congress that limited strikes risk prolonged involvement and could seriously jeopardize U.S. military readiness.
“The idea that we’re going to be in a Middle Eastern war for years with no end in sight — there is no chance that will happen,” Vance told The Post during an interview on board Air Force Two.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Thursday night after the conclusion of talks in Geneva that “further progress” was made during the diplomatic negotiations. “This round of talks was the most intense so far,” he said in a statement posted on X.
Araghchi said the two sides will continue to engage in a “more detailed manner on matters that are essential to any deal—including sanctions termination and nuclear-related steps.”
Al Busaidi also said Iran and the U.S. made “significant progress,” despite a massive buildup of U.S. military assets sent to the Middle East poised within striking distance of Iran.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” Trump said in his State of the Union speech to Congress Tuesday night. “But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
Julia Jester contributed to this report.
Vaughn Hillyard is a senior White House reporter for MS NOW.