US, Iran hold indirect talks in Oman with top US military commander present

Iran and the United States held indirect talks in Oman on Friday, negotiations that appeared to return to the starting point on how to approach discussions over Tehran's nuclear programme. But for the first time, America brought its top military commander in the Middle East to the table.

The presence of US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military's Central Command, in his dress uniform at the talks in Muscat, the Omani capital, served as a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships were now off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to reach a deal on the programme after earlier sending the carrier to the region over Tehran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands of others detained in the Islamic Republic.

Gulf Arab nations fear an attack could spark a regional war that would drag them in as well.

That threat