Report: US, Iran Held Secret Talks Over Red Sea Attacks

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Facts

  • According to a Wednesday report citing unnamed American and Iranian officials in the Financial Times, the US has held secret talks with Iran urging Tehran to rein in Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.1
  • The delegations at the Oman-brokered talks in January were reportedly led by the Biden administration's Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, US special envoy to Iran Abram Paley, and Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's deputy foreign minister and chief negotiator at the nuclear talks.2
  • The indirect talks — the first reported US-Iran engagement since the two countries exchanged prisoners in September — reportedly addressed a range of issues in addition to the Houthi attacks on US ships in the Red Sea, including Iran's nuclear program.3
  • The US State Department declined to comment on the Oman talks, saying all talks with Tehran since Oct. 7 centered on 'the full range of threats' the US says emanate from Iran and 'the need for Iran to cease its across-the-board escalation.'4
  • During the reported engagement, the US and Iran relied on Omani officials to transmit messages. Follow-up talks, slated for February, did not proceed because McGurk redirected his efforts to securing a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.5
  • In a further development, Washington this week announced sanctions against four suspected Iran-based members or financiers of the Bahraini Al-Ashtar Brigades, which was designated a terrorist organization by the US in 2018.6

Sources: 1timesofisrael.com, 2Ynetnews, 3CNN (a), 4CNN (b), 5alarabiya.net and 6WorldECR.

Narratives

  • Pro-Iran narrative, as provided by Global Village Space. Continued attacks by the Houthis confirm what Tehran has been saying all along — the Shiite Yemeni group may be politically linked to Iran but it's acting independently. Iran, however, is willing to support the US in its attempt to find a diplomatic solution to instability in the region, if it has finally accepted that it can't win militarily in this case.
  • Anti-Iran narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. The failure of these talks proves Tehran is deliberately seeking escalation, believing it will bolster its regional clout. The Houthis rely on Iran politically and militarily, and are just one of the proxies Tehran is using to destabilize the region. The US is willing to use diplomatic channels — in addition to military deterrence — if Iran is open to more talks.

Predictions