{"id":23436,"date":"2026-02-07T10:24:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/un-welcomes-resumption-of-indirect-talks-between-iran-and-the-united-states\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:14","slug":"un-welcomes-resumption-of-indirect-talks-between-iran-and-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/un-welcomes-resumption-of-indirect-talks-between-iran-and-the-united-states\/","title":{"rendered":"UN welcomes resumption of indirect talks between Iran and the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to media reports, delegations led by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> discussions in Oman.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> The meeting marks the first engagement between the two sides since June of last year, when the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. The renewed talks come amid a significant build\u2011up of US military assets in the region, including the deployment of a nuclear\u2011powered aircraft carrier off the Iranian coast.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In a statement read to correspondents, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said the Secretary\u2011General hoped the dialogue would \u201chelp reduce regional tensions and prevent a broader crisis.\u201d Guterres also expressed appreciation to regional governments for their efforts in facilitating the talks, and to Oman for hosting them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThe Secretary\u2011General has consistently advocated for de\u2011escalation and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter. All concerns can and should be addressed through peaceful dialogue,\u201d Mr Haq added.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has meanwhile called for an independent investigation into alleged killings and other violations committed during recent protests in Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The demonstrations began in late December, sparked by shopkeepers in Tehran protesting the collapse of the national currency, rising inflation, and deteriorating living conditions. The unrest quickly spread across the country, evolving into wider anti\u2011government protests and prompting a forceful and deadly response from authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Iran\u2019s government has released a list of more than <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">2 900<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> people confirmed to have died<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, though<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> \u201cother sources suggest that the total number is much higher,\u201d OHCHR Spokesperson Thameen Al\u2011Kheetan told reporters in Geneva. He noted that verifying casualty figures remains \u201cvery difficult\u201d due to internet shutdowns, restrictions on communication, and limited access to affected areas. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u201cThere must be independent, impartial and transparent investigations into all the allegations of killings and serious human rights violations,\u201d Mr Al\u2011Kheetan said. He also urged the immediate and unconditional release of everyone arbitrarily detained during the unrest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13901,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-23436","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"United Nations (UN) Secretary\u2011General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the resumption of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, following weeks of escalating tensions over Iran\u2019s nuclear programme and concerns about the possibility of a US military strike.","published_date":null,"news_description":"United Nations (UN) Secretary\u2011General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the resumption of indirect talks between Iran and the United States, following weeks of escalating tensions over Iran\u2019s nuclear programme and concerns about the possibility of a US military strike.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26404,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/23436\/revisions\/26404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=23436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}