Mediator Oman says Tehran-US talks aim for nuke-free Iran

The foreign ministry of Oman, which is mediating the nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, said the two sides were seeking an agreement that guarantees the Islamic republic does not possess nuclear weapons.

The two sides “have agreed to enter into the next phase of their discussions that aim to seal a fair, enduring and binding deal which will ensure Iran completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy,” Oman’s foreign ministry said on X.

The Iranian foreign minister said Saturday that the next high-level nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States would take place next Saturday in Oman.

“I believe on Wednesday technical negotiations at the expert level will begin in Oman, and next Saturday we will meet in Oman and review the results of the experts’ work to see how close it is to the principles of an agreement,” Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi told state TV.

The Oman-mediated talks in Rome lasted about four hours, according to Iranian state television, which described the atmosphere as “constructive.”

“The two sides agreed to resume indirect talks at a technical level over the next few days and subsequently continue at the level of two senior negotiators next Saturday,” April 26, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on X.

Iran later added that the third round of talks would take place in Oman, returning to the site of the initial dialogue a week ago.

Those were the first discussions at such a high level between the foes since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord in 2018.

Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.

Images broadcast by the state TV showed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arriving in the Italian capital, with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff also expected to participate.

Araghchi later described the discussions as a “good meeting” that yielded progress.

“This time we managed to reach a better understanding on a series of principles and goals,” he told state TV.

He also told the Tasnim news agency that the nuclear issue was the only topic raised.

Baqaei said the delegations had been “in two different rooms” at the Omani ambassador’s residence, with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi passing messages between them.

Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

Following his return to office in January, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against Iran.

In March he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei urging renewed nuclear talks while also warning of military action if diplomacy failed.

“I’m not in a rush” to use the military option, Trump said Thursday. “I think Iran wants to talk.”

On Friday, Araghchi said Iran “observed a degree of seriousness” on the US side during the first round but questioned their “intentions and motivations.”

In a social media post early Saturday, Baqaei said Tehran was cleareyed about the talks, while “relying also on the past experiences.”

The leader of mediator Oman, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, is due in Moscow in the coming days, according to his office and the Kremlin, which said he would discuss with President Vladimir Putin “current questions on the international and regional agenda” and other issues.