TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to discuss recent nuclear talks with the United States held in Oman during his upcoming visit to Moscow this week, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran Esmaeil Baqaei said that Araqchi will travel to Russia later this week and use this opportunity to discuss the latest developments related to the Muscat talks.
He said that the country’s lawmakers were also briefed both before and after the negotiations, adding that holding indirect talks is not unconventional.
On Saturday, Araghchi held talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Muscat, the highest-level Iranian-US nuclear engagement since the collapse of a 2015 nuclear deal also known as JCPOA.
“If we seek effective negotiations and are serious about diplomatic engagement, we must choose a method we are confident will yield results,” Baqaei said.
He said Iran’s positions on the nuclear issue are clear, adding, “Our main issue is the termination of the cruel sanctions that have been imposed on Iran for decades, and this is our serious demand that we have raised and are pursuing.”
The talks came weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for nuclear talks.
Russia welcomed the Iran-US talks as it pushed for a diplomatic solution and warned that military confrontation would be catastrophic.
Another round of negotiations between Iran and the United States is scheduled for Saturday, April 19.
Iran has yet to confirm the venue of the talks, however, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that they would be held in Europe.
Baqaei went on to say the next round of talks would continue to be indirect with Omani mediation, adding that direct talks were “not effective” and “not useful.”
In 2018, during former President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed stringent sanctions on Iran.
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Although Iran initially continued to comply with the deal for a year following the US withdrawal, it gradually began scaling back its commitments.
Tehran has consistently maintained that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons.
Baqaei has also said that Iran would host United Nations nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi in the coming days.
Grossi in a post on X confirmed that he would be heading to Tehran “later this week.”
“Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” he said.
