The U.S.-Iran talks, set for April 25, are to return to Oman, AP reported early this morning. No explanation as to why has been provided but AP offers two possible reasons. The first is that Rome is still in mourning after the death of Pope Francis. The second is that Iranian state TV has been complaining about the crowd of “paparazzi” who gathered across the street from the Omani embassy during last weekend’s talks. Apparently, the Iranians prefer the Omani venue where access is much more easily controlled.
The U.S. technical team was expected to arrive in Oman on Friday ahead of the April 26 talks on Saturday, AP adds. They’ll be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff. According to AP, Anton does not have the nuclear policy experience of those who led America’s efforts in the 2015 talks, but “he was an early supporter of Trump, describing the 2016 election as a ‘charge the cockpit or you die’ vote.”
