US, Iran to hold more nuclear talks after another round of ‘productive' meetings
The U.S. and Iran will hold more nuclear talks after another round of meetings in Oman, which for the first time included technical discussions between the two sides regarding Tehran's advancing nuclear program.
The third round of talks between the officials in Muscat, Oman's capital, on Saturday were 'positive and productive' and lasted more than four hours in total, according to a U.S. official. The latest huddle included direct and indirect interactions between officials.
'There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal. We agreed to meet again soon, in Europe, and we thank our Omani partners for facilitating these talks,' a senior U.S. administration official said on Saturday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks.
The discussions on Saturday were done by expert teams as well as between President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The U.S. technical team is led by senior State Department official Michael Anton, while Iran's expert team is headed by the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi.
Araghchi said after the meeting that the talks were detailed, but that there are differences on 'major' issues.
'This time, the negotiations were much more serious than in the past, and we gradually entered into deeper and more detailed discussions,' Araghchi told Iran state television, according to The Associated Press. 'We have moved somewhat away from broader, general discussions — though it is not the case that all disagreements have been resolved. Differences still exist both on major issues and on the details.'
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said Saturday's talks in Muscat 'identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments.'
'Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed,' Oman's foreign minister said in a Saturday post on social media platform X, adding that discussions will continue next week with another meeting being 'provisionally' scheduled for Saturday, May 3.
The two delegations held the last round of talks in Rome, where U.S. officials said they made 'very good' progress.
Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine, which was released on Friday, that he thinks 'we're going to make a deal with' Iran, but, again, warned the Islamic Republic that if diplomacy does not work out, military strikes could come next.
The president has said he wants to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He pulled out of the 2015 Obama-negotiated Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Since then, Iran has accelerated its enrichment of uranium.
Saturday's talks come after a large explosion in Iran's Shahid Rajaei port killed eight people and injured some 750.
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