MUSCAT, Oman: Iran and the United States concluded another round of nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough on uranium enrichment, but both sides described the discussions as constructive and confirmed plans for future negotiations.
This was the fourth round of talks that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two sides since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Both sides had reported progress in the previous three rounds, and on Sunday, Iran said the meeting was “difficult but useful” while a senior US official said Washington was “encouraged”.
In a post on X, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the talks could help “better understand each other’s positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences”.
Baqaei earlier said negotiators would push for relief from US sanctions.
The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was “encouraged by today’s outcome and looks forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future”, without specifying when.
Baqaei said that the “next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman”.
According to the US official, the talks were “both direct and indirect, and lasted over three hours”.
“Agreement was reached to move forward” and “continue working through technical elements”, the official added.
Shared desire to reach a deal
Oman’s top diplomat said talks he was mediating in Muscat included “useful and original ideas” that reflected a shared desire to reach a deal between the two arch-foes.
“We completed another round of talks between Iran and the United States in Muscat today. The discussions included useful and original ideas reflecting a shared wish to reach an honourable agreement. The 5th round of talks will take place once both parties… consult their leaderships”, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the latest round of nuclear talks with the United States was “more serious” and “more detailed” than previous meetings.
“The negotiations were much more serious and explicit than the previous three rounds,” Araghchi told Iranian state TV from Oman, where the fourth round of talks was held, adding that “more detailed issues” were discussed and that the negotiations were “moving forward”.
Iran entered the talks saying that its right to maintain uranium enrichment was “non-negotiable”, while Washington’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff has called it a “red line”.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Tehran’s delegation, said in a video before departing for the Omani capital Muscat that “enrichment capability is one of the honours” of Iran, which has consistently denied seeking nuclear weapons.
Breakthrough will take time
The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, with US President Trump heading to the Gulf for his first major foreign tour next week, and Araghchi just back from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The fourth round that took place on Sunday was initially scheduled for May 3 but has been delayed, with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons”.
Yousuf Al Bulushi, chairman of the Muscat Policy Council think tank, said that a breakthrough “will take quite some time, but I’m optimistic”.
He warned, however, that both sides had lost precious time during past negotiations trying to clarify public statements, “instead of focusing solely on talks”.
Public “pressure is a tactic in negotiations… but this is really impacting the atmosphere” at the table, said Bulushi.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled”.
“That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told US right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
Araghchi has repeatedly defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium.
Trump’s maximum pressure policy
Iran adhered to the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers for a year after Washington’s withdrawal, before beginning to roll back its compliance.
Since returning to the office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.
The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran’s nuclear programme.
European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.
Araghchi, in an article published on Sunday by French weekly Le Point, warned against a “strategy of confrontation”. – Agencies
