U.S. Official Says U.S. Team Did Not Travel to Oman for Talks With Iran

A U.S. official said U.S. negotiators did not travel to Oman to take part in talks with Iran. According to Jin10, the official said the U.S. technical team would not be present on the ground in Oman, but would stay in contact with Oman and Qatar as the situation develops. A U.S. senior official had said on July 10 that the talks would resume in Oman, but did not specify whether the U.S. team would attend in person. Another U.S. official said the United States had expected Iran to publicly state after the talks that it would stop attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but Iranian sources said Iran made no such commitment. Iranian sources said Omani and Iranian officials discussed a “mechanism for safe passage of ships” and said Oman advocated “preventing an escalation of regional tensions through diplomacy.”