Iran (MNN) — The United States and Iran are preparing for renewed nuclear talks this weekend in Muscat, Oman, signaling a possible diplomatic pause after weeks of rising regional tension.
Mediators from Qatar, Turkiye, and Egypt are helping steer the talks by offering Iran and the United States a shared set of discussion guidelines.
Middle East expert Mike Ansari (formerly with Heart4Iran) says it seems Washington is trying to avoid further hostilities, even as warnings remain stark on both sides.
“President Trump has basically been very vocal, saying that if it comes to having conflict, we are not going to back off and we are going to go in heavy. Iran says any kind of action from the United States against Iran would trigger a regional conflict. So at this moment, it appears that President Trump is giving diplomacy a chance to avoid any kind of conflict.”
(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)
But inside Iran, Ansari says diplomacy abroad hasn’t eased pressure at home.
Ongoing Repression
Protests erupted across Iran over the last several weeks, sparked largely by economic collapse. Retirees have lost pensions. Families have lost savings. Many Iranians believe national wealth is being diverted to fund proxy wars instead of meeting basic needs.
Ansari explains, “The atmosphere in Iran and the condition of living for average Iranians is so dismal that [the government] knew that there would be an organic uprising of people.”
Iranian officials responded with overwhelming force. Internet access was cut, and security forces moved quickly to suppress demonstrations. Ansari says reports from inside Iran describe widespread violence, mass arrests, and the targeting of wounded protesters.
Minority communities, including Christians, are once again feeling the pressure.
“Historically, whenever such uprisings take place in Iran, the minorities that include Bahais and the Jewish community and the Christian converts from Islam are subject to house raids and arrests,” says Ansari.
“Some of the leaders of the house churches that have had their houses raided have been arrested under the guise of being agents of Mossad and bringing discord into the Iranian government. Many of the people who have been arrested, we haven’t heard anything from them.”
Hope in the Spirit
(Screenshot of Prayercast’s Iran video)
Yet even in the darkness, the Holy Spirit is moving inside Iran.
Ansari says, “Many people are still reporting that they’re having dreams and visions. It’s amazing to know that God is way ahead of all of us…. We’ve seen acts of mercy by a lot of Iranian Christian converts, providing shelter to the people that are being wounded, helping them out, or just being kind to them. This is how the Gospel is spreading in Iran.”
Iran’s underground Church — long considered one of the fastest-growing in the world — is now facing what Ansari calls an “existential fight.”
“These are very difficult days for Iran, and these are the days that we’re asking the Church globally to lift Iran and Iranians in their prayers and also lift the underground Church, which is practically fighting for its existence, in your prayers.”
Header photo: Mutrah, Muscat, Oman (Photo courtesy of Muhammad Shoaib/Unsplash)
