Iran wants indirect talks with US, warns regional countries over strikes against it

By Parisa Hafezi

(Reuters) - Iran is pushing back against U.S. demands that it directly negotiate over its nuclear programme or be bombed, warning neighbours that host U.S. bases that they could be in the firing line if involved, a senior Iranian official said.

Although Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for direct talks, it wants to continue indirect negotiations through Oman, a longtime channel for messages between the rival states, said the official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

"Indirect talks offer a chance to evaluate Washington's seriousness about a political solution with Iran," said the official.

Although that path could be "rocky", such talks could begin soon if U.S. messaging supported it, the official said.

Iran has issued notices to Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey and Bahrain that any support for a U.S. attack on Iran, including the use of their air space or territory by U.S. military during an attack, would be considered an act of hostility, the official said.

Such an act "will have severe consequences for them", the official said, adding that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had placed Iran's armed forces on high alert.

Warnings by Trump of military action against Iran have jangled already tense nerves across the region after open warfare in Gaza and Lebanon, military strikes on Yemen, a change of leadership in Syria and Israeli-Iranian exchanges of fire.

Worries of a wider regional conflagration have unsettled states around the Gulf, a body of water bordered on one side by Iran and on the other by U.S.-allied Arab monarchies that carries a significant proportion of global oil supplies.

Spokespeople for the governments of Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it was not aware of a warning but that such messages could be conveyed by other channels.

On Wednesday, Iranian state media reported that Kuwait had reassured Iran that it would not accept any aggressive action being directed at other countries from its soil.

Iran's ally Russia said on Thursday that U.S. threats of military strikes against the Islamic Republic were unacceptable and on Friday called for restraint.

Iran is trying to gain more support from Russia, but is sceptical about Moscow's commitment to its ally, said a second Iranian official. This "depends on the dynamics" of the relationship between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the official said.

TWO-MONTH WINDOW

Trump has said he would prefer a deal over Iran's nuclear programme to a military confrontation and he said on March 7 he had written to Khamenei to suggest talks.

The first Iranian official said a first round of indirect talks could involve Omani mediators shuttling between the Iranian and U.S. delegations. Khamenei has authorised Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi or his deputy, Majid Takht-e Ravanchi, to attend any talks in Muscat.

Oman's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

However, the official believed there was a window of around two months to agree a deal, citing worries that Iran's long-time foe Israel might launch its own attack if talks took longer, and that it could trigger a so-called "snap back" of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Iran has long denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned.

Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs.

While Iran has said it will consider talks with the U.S. if the aim was to address concerns over its programme, it has rejected holding any direct negotiations when the U.S. is making threats and has said its missile programme would be off limits.

A senior Iranian military commander, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Alireza Hajizadeh, had implied on Monday that U.S. bases in the region could be targeted in any conflict.

In 2020, Iran targeted U.S. bases in Iraq after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC's Quds Force, in a U.S. missile strike in Baghdad.

(Additional reporting by Maha Dahan in Dubai and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul, Writing by Angus McDowall, Editing by Timothy Heritage)