US, Iran conclude 'positive' first round of nuclear talks, to resume next week
US-Iran talks were focused on sanctions against the Islamic Republic and wars in the Middle East, according to an Omani source.
The US and Iran concluded a first round of indirect, productive talks in Oman on Saturday, according to Iranian state media, with the two sides agreeing to continue discussions this week.
The talks that were held in the capital, Muscat, aimed at initiating the negotiations over Tehran’s fast-advancing nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump threatening military action if no deal was reached.
Iranian news agency Tasnim quoted a member of Iran’s delegation as saying that the talks with the US were held in a “positive atmosphere.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian delegation, while the talks were handled on the US side by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. Iranian state media IRNA reported that the two shared a direct conversation following Saturday’s mediated talks.
Witkoff underscored to Araghchi that he had instructions from Trump to resolve our two nations’ differences through dialog and diplomacy if that is possible,” the White House said in a statement.
“These issues are very complicated... Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” it added.
Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, wrote on X/Twitter that the talks “took place in a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security, and stability.
“We will continue to work together and put further efforts into achieving this goal,” Busaidi, who mediated the talks in Muscat, added.
US-Iran talks focus on sanctions, regional wars, and prisoner swaps
An Omani source told Reuters on Saturday that the talks focused on deescalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges, and limited agreements to ease sanctions in exchange for controlling Iran’s nuclear program.
“Indirect talks between Iran and the United States with the mediation of the Omani foreign minister have started,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei posted on X.
Iran was approaching the talks warily, skeptical that they could lead to a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its nuclear program.
Each delegation had their separate room and exchanged messages via Oman’s foreign minister, Baghaei said.
Iran approached these talks warily. It was skeptical that they could lead to a deal, and it was suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it did not halt its nuclear program.
Iranian state television showed a clip of Araghchi meeting with Busaidi.
“As part of the Iran-US indirect talks, Araghchi provided his Omani counterpart with Tehran’s key points and positions to be conveyed to the US side,” Iranian state media reported.
Signs of progress in this regard could help cool tensions in a region that has been marked since 2023 by wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, and the overthrow of the government in Syria.
However, failure in these talks would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the world’s oil. Tehran has cautioned neighboring countries that have US bases that they would face “severe consequences” if they were involved in any US military attack on Iran.
“There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (US) enters the talks with an equal stance,” Araghchi told Iranian TV.
He said it was too early to comment on the duration of the talks – the first to take place between Iran and the Trump administration.
“This is the first meeting, and in it, many fundamental and initial issues will be clarified, including whether there is sufficient will on both sides – after which we can make a decision on a timeline,” Araghchi said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is intermingled with the Islamic Republic’s complex power structure and who has the final say on key state matters, has given Araghchi “full authority” for the talks, an Iranian official told Reuters.
“The duration of the talks, which will only be about the nuclear issue, will depend on the US side’s seriousness and goodwill,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the matter’s sensitivity.
Tehran has ruled out negotiating its defense capabilities, such as its missile program.
Decades-long dispute
Iran has always maintained that its nuclear program was intended for purely civilian purposes, but Western countries believe it wants to build an atomic bomb.
They say Iran’s enrichment of uranium, a nuclear fuel source, has gone far beyond the requirements of a civilian program and that it has produced stocks at a level of fissile purity close to those required in nuclear warheads.
Trump, who has restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term, reimposing crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Since then, Iran’s nuclear program has leaped forward, including enriching uranium to 60%, a technical step toward the levels needed for a nuclear bomb.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that he hoped that the talks would lead to peace, adding, “We’ve been very clear that Iran is never going to have a nuclear weapon, and I think that’s what led to this meeting.”
Tehran responded the following day, saying it was giving the United States a “genuine chance” despite what it called Washington’s “prevailing confrontational hoopla.”
Israel sees Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and has long threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy to curb its nuclear ambitions fails.
Tehran’s influence throughout the Middle East has been severely curbed, with its regional allies – known as the “Axis of Resistance” – either dismantled or badly hurt since the start of the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza and the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.
The axis includes not only Hamas but also Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various Shi’ite armed groups in Iraq and Syria.