'We know how to get deals': Morgan Ortagus says US seeking 'peaceful resolution' with Iran

Deputy special envoy to the Middle East tells The National the Trump administration is 'in a hurry' to reach an agreement

The US will aim to reach a peaceful resolution and establish common ground and mutual understanding with Iran during highly anticipated meetings in Oman, Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said in an interview on Tuesday, only hours after both sides confirmed the planned talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that indirect high-level talks with the US would be held in the Gulf nation on Saturday, following President Donald Trump’s statement that “direct” discussions were expected.

“President Trump said direct, so I'm going to follow the lead of my president. In terms of expectations [..] there hasn't been any formal negotiations ever with the Trump administration [..] so I think that this is going to be really important," Ms Ortagus told The National in Abu Dhabi.

“I don't want to put the cart before the horse. I think there's a lot of ways to just get together and try to find some common ground, some understanding. There's a lot of distrust between both sides and [..] I'm very clear of that,” she added.

“Let's have some initial meetings and see if there's a way to find common ground to do what the President wants to do, which is to find a peaceful resolution and negotiation to these tough and difficult problems.”

I think that we're in a hurry, so to speak, this time

Morgan Ortagus

There is a growing consensus among Middle East and US officials that Iran’s long-standing strategy of projecting power through proxy militias – from Hezbollah in Lebanon to militias in Iraq and Yemen – is under unprecedented strain. With key allies suffering significant setbacks and Tehran absorbing blows across several fronts, many now see a rare opportunity to begin unravelling its web of influence in the region.

Through backchannels and regional intermediaries, Iranian officials have recently expressed a willingness to negotiate, provided that initial discussions remain narrowly focused on the nuclear file before moving to other issues.

Inside Iran, analysts and academics are debating whether Tehran should rethink its regional strategy fundamentally. Some have told The National that the leadership is weighing up a shift that could see it scaling back support for armed militant groups in response to regional fatigue and rising costs. That debate has only intensified since the recent setbacks for Iran’s proxy forces.

“The last year and a half has been devastating for the Islamic Republic of Iran. [..] They've really been exposed. You've seen militia after militia drop,” said Ms Ortagus.

The talks with Iran, coming after the Trump administration has made it a priority to end the wars in the Middle East, are taking place even before the President's 100-day mark in the White House, in a region pushed towards significant change and a rapid shift in the rules of engagement.

'We have a lot to fix'

Talks with Iran have historically taken years to yield a deal, one from which Mr Trump later withdrew, triggering a maximum pressure campaign aimed at forcing Tehran’s hand. This time, however, Iran has far fewer cards to play and is in no position to manoeuvre or afford delays.

Ms Ortagus said her administration is “definitely” feeling the urgency this time. “Our administration is really focused on outcomes and deliverables, and there's a lot of business people in our administration and we like deals. We know how to get to deals. We're not focused a lot on the process,” she explained. “I think that we're in a hurry, so to speak, this time.”

While Iran denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, it is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to 60 per cent purity – a short step from the 90 per cent needed to create nuclear weapons. However, following threats from Mr Trump, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s senior adviser Ali Larijani warned that Iran would acquire such a weapon if attacked.

Full interview: Ortagus on Iran, Hezbollah and 'solving problems' in the Middle East

Morgan Ortagus on President Trump's Middle East plans

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Mr Araghchi, who was among Iran's negotiators who agreed to the 2015 nuclear deal, said the accord could not be revived in the same format because of Tehran's nuclear development advancement and increased US sanctions. However, he suggested the deal could serve as a basis for another potential agreement.

The Trump team inherited conflicts from the Joe Biden administration, and, according to Ms Ortagus, in “the last four years, we have seen war and chaos and tumult around the world," especially in the Middle East. “So, yes, when we came into the Trump administration we were in a hurry. We have to be in a hurry because there's been nothing but war and devastation and weakness over the past four years. We have a lot to fix,” she said.

One of Iran’s last-standing proxies is the rebel Houthi group in Yemen, who have been able to launch drones and missiles against US and Israeli targets, as well as commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting business in strategic shipping lanes, in what they claimed to be support for Hamas in Gaza.

The US has launched a fierce bombing campaign against areas the Houthis control in Yemen, but the European Union has advised that a long-term solution would be political. Many players in the region have called on Iran to end its support for the rebels, designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, especially in terms of training and arms.

It’s genuinely refreshing to do diplomacy in this region, with our Gulf partners

Morgan Ortagus

“I commend my friends in the EU if they would like to take that on in Yemen. I don't think that that's our strategic military objective, but of course, we applaud anybody who wants to pursue political dialogue. That's clearly always the long-term solution,” the US official said.

“But we're not focused in the Trump administration on picking winners and losers. We're focused on restoring confidence and restoring the ability of the US Navy and our commercial ships to sail anywhere in international waters that we'd like to go," she emphasised.

Israel has to be integrated

The turning point for Iran may have come when an Israeli pager bomb attack in Lebanon last year shook Hezbollah to its core, killing dozens of members. Shortly after, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a major Israeli strike, along with other key figures. This sequence of events triggered a domino effect, leading to the eventual collapse of the Syrian regime.

Israel and US intelligence successes have disrupted Tehran’s network, while the collapse of the Syrian regime marked a devastating blow to Iranian ambitions. Even Iran’s territory has not been immune: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran and Israeli strikes have hit Iranian military targets in the country.

In Lebanon, despite a ceasefire agreement, Israel continues to target Hezbollah, Hamas and others. Israel's actions beyond the ceasefire deal are seen as part of US guarantees that granted the Israeli military the right to continue striking Hezbollah and any other “threat”. Political, military and security sources told The National that politicians involved in the ceasefire negotiations were informed by US and other foreign envoys that this outcome was inevitable.

“The onus is upon the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces] and upon the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah completely in the south,” said Ms Ortagus, but “it's really important to note that we've had a change in administration. We've had a change in policy in Washington. We are the Trump administration, we're not the Biden administration.”

Iranian soldiers walk next to a huge banner bearing a sentence reading 'Stay steadfast on this path' in a street in Tehran. EPA

Last month, a senior Lebanese official said Israel was expected to continue its "violations" of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah as part of a broader pressure campaign on Beirut. It came as another top Lebanese official accused Israel of attempting to pressure the country into establishing relations.

For Ms Ortagus, more peace agreements with Israel are a goal for the Trump administration.

“It may seem naive, but my hope is by the end of these four years of working for President Trump that throughout the region, throughout the Muslim world, that we have more people, more countries that are willing to step into Abraham Accords, that are willing to take a stand for peace and not take a stand for war and for hatred again,” she said.

The US official insisted Israel must, from now on, be part of discussions related to the Middle East within the region.

“The days of solving problems in the Middle East where all the Arabs get together and then Israel's not at the table, whether it's Gaza, whether it's Lebanon, whether it's Syria, whatever the situation is, Israel has to be integrated into those discussions and into those decisions.”

She praised relations with the Gulf in helping to end wars and conflicts. “The mentality here is very similar – the ease of doing business and working together. It’s genuinely refreshing to do diplomacy in this region, with our Gulf partners,” she said.