Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi has met with United States Vice President JD Vance, amid growing fears grow of a potential US attack on Iran.

Al Busaidi, a key mediator in ongoing talks between the US and Iran, met with Vance in Washington, DC on Friday. He said the nuclear negotiations have so far achieved significant, important, and unprecedented progress, according to the Oman News Agency.

The meeting focused on the indirect talks which are being mediated by Oman. American and Iranian officials held the latest round of negotiations in Geneva on Thursday.

Since resuming talks last month, the US has said it wants Iran to dismantle its nuclear infrastructure entirely, limit its arsenal of ballistic missiles and stop supporting regional allies. While Tehran has shown flexibility about discussing limitations on the enrichment of uranium for civilian use, it has so far treated missiles and proxies as non-negotiables.

During his meeting with Vance, Al Busaidi said the negotiations had resulted in “creative and constructive ideas and proposals.”

Middle East tensions

Friday’s meeting comes as concerns grow over a potential US military strike on Iran.

US President Donald Trump has said he favours a diplomatic resolution to the standoff, but has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not accept a deal. The US has amassed its biggest military arsenal in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which arrived on Friday in the Israeli port city of Haifa, according to Israeli Channel 12.

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Iran has said that it was not going to initiate a war, but that it was ready to respond if attacked, threatening to strike bases used by US forces in the region.

On Friday, the US authorised the departure of nonemergency embassy staff from Israel – the same order Washington issued for the US mission in Lebanon earlier this week.

China, Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy are amongst the growing number of countries that have urged their citizens to leave Iran in recent days.