Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has departed for the Omani capital Muscat at the head of a diplomatic delegation for nuclear talks with the U.S. due to be held on Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said.

The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remain at odds over Washington’s insistence that negotiations must include Tehran’s missile arsenal and Iran’s vow to discuss only its nuclear program.

Iran will engage in the talks “with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue,” the spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.

“We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, realism and seriousness,” Baghaei added.

The delicate diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions as the U.S. builds up forces in the Middle East and regional players seek to avoid a military confrontation that many fear could escalate into a wider war.

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(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Editing by Susan Fenton and Gareth Jones)