Foreign Secretary Abbas Araghchi had a brief conversation with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at an indirect meeting in Oman, who said the talks would resume next Saturday.
“The United States also said that a positive agreement can be reached as soon as possible, but it is not easy and both sides need will.”
He added: “At today’s meeting, I think we’re very close to the basis of conducting negotiations… neither we nor the other party want a resultless negotiation, discussing the reasons for discussion, wasting time or talking about procrastination forever.”
“The discussion was very positive and constructive,” the White House statement said.
“The direct communication of the special envoy, Witkoff, today is a step toward achieving mutually beneficial results,” it said.
Iran said Omani’s foreign minister served as intermediary during Muscat’s talks. Americans called for a meeting to be face to face.
However, negotiators also spoke directly for “a few minutes”, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said. It said the negotiations were held in an atmosphere of “a constructive and mutual respect.”
After Trump pulled out of an early deal in the first semester of 2018, there have been more than 40 years of diplomatic relations and long-term opponents who have been seeking new nuclear deals.
Araghchi is an experienced diplomat and leading architect of the 2015 agreement, while real estate giant Witkoff leads the delegation’s highest-level Iran-US nuclear negotiations since the last agreement collapsed.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X the bipartisan in a “separate hall” and “transmit their views and positions to each other through Oman’s foreign ministers”.
Omanian Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the process took place in a “friendly atmosphere”.
Iran is seeking to alleviate sanctions due to Israel’s weakening of Lebanon’s allies Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.
Despite Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign strengthening sanctions and repeated military threats, Tehran agreed to the meeting.
Meanwhile, the United States is hostile to Iran in Israel’s hands. The United States hopes to prevent Tehran from approaching the development of a nuclear bomb.
Witkoff opens to “compromise”
===========================================
There was no obvious sign at the senior meeting held at a luxury hotel in Muscat.
Witkoff earlier told the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. stance began with demanding Iran to completely remove its nuclear program – a view that few people around Trump believe are expected to be accepted by Iran.
“By the way, this doesn’t mean it’s on the edge, and we won’t find other ways to find compromises between the two countries,” Witkov told the newspaper.
“Where will our red line be, your nuclear energy cannot be weaponized,” he added.
The talks were revealed in an unexpected announcement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his appearance at the White House on Monday.
Hours before the negotiations began, Trump told the First Air Force One reporter: “I hope Iran will be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they cannot have nuclear weapons.”
Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran seeks a “real fair deal”.
Saturday’s meeting was followed by repeated threats from military operations between the United States and Israel.
“We will need military military if the military is needed,” Trump said Wednesday when asked what would happen if the talks failed.
“The survival of the regime”
=======================================
The 2015 deal Trump abandoned was intended to make it nearly impossible for Iran to build an atomic weapon while allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear program.
Iran, which insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, stepped up its activities after Trump withdraws from the deal.
The latest IAEA report says Iran estimates that 274.8 kg of uranium is enriched to 60%, close to 90% of weapon grade.
Karim Bitar, a lecturer in Middle East studies at the University of Science PO Paris, said the Iranian government’s existence could be threatened.
“One and only priority is the survival of the regime, ideally, some oxygen, some sanctions relief to make their economy develop again because the regime becomes unpopular,” he told AFP.
