Iran announces that talks with the United States will remain indirect with Omani mediation
Iran announced Sunday that upcoming talks with the United States, scheduled for the end of next week, will remain indirect and focus exclusively on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.
The two countries held constructive talks on Saturday regarding Iran’s nuclear program and agreed to hold a new meeting.
The Iranian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a seasoned diplomat and one of the architects of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, while US President Donald Trump’s envoy, real estate mogul Steve Witkoff, led the US delegation, as the two men met briefly in person.
Another round of talks between Washington and Tehran is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, as the new round will be held in Europe.
Iran reported that Omani Foreign Minister Badr al Busaidi mediated the high-level talks in Muscat.
“The negotiations will remain indirect… Oman will remain the mediator,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in an interview with state television.
He stressed that the talks would focus only on the nuclear issue and lifting sanctions.
Analysts said the United States will strive to include Iran’s ballistic missile program, along with Tehran’s support for the “Axis of Resistance,” on the agenda.
However, Tehran has stressed that it will only discuss its nuclear program.
These talks are the highest-level talks on the matter since Trump, during his first term in 2018, withdrew from the 2015 international agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, which was concluded between Iran and major powers in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
When asked about the talks, Trump told reporters on Air Force One, “I think they’re going well… Nothing matters until it’s done”.
The White House described the talks as a “step forward”.
The United States called for the meetings to be direct, face-to-face, while the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the negotiators also spoke directly for a few minutes, adding that the talks were held in a constructive atmosphere marked by mutual respect.
The talks between the two sides, which haven’t had diplomatic relations for decades, come after repeated threats of military action by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.
Iran, whose two major allies, Hamas and Hezbollah, have been weakened by two wars waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, is seeking to ease the years-long sanctions that have stifled its economy.
In contrast, the United States, along with its ally Israel, Tehran’s archenemy, is seeking to prevent Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon.
Tehran agreed to the meeting despite its opposition to the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy and repeated military threats.
On Sunday, Iranian media widely welcomed the rare talks, describing them as a critical turning point in relations between the two arch-rivals.
