Iran, US to reconvene for talks in Oman over weekend: Report
The fourth round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the US, initially scheduled for May 3, is set to be held in Oman on Sunday, Iranian media and the US negotiator said.
According to Iran’s Nour News, the upcoming negotiations will focus on humanitarian issues and security concerns.
The latest round of the negotiations was postponed, with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons” for the delay.
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads the US delegation in the talks, called the negotiations with Iran “positive,” saying efforts are underway to take the process into another round this weekend.
“We are making some progress,” he said on Tuesday.
“I hope it is moving in the right direction. The president wants to see this solved diplomatically if possible, so we’re doing everything we can to get it going.”
Witkoff also said any delay in the apparent underway push to continue the process would be due to Trump’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar next week.
Since April 12, the two countries have held three rounds of talks in Oman and Italy, that have been described by the two side as “positive and constructive.”
Contradictory remarks
However, Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Monday denounced some contradictory remarks by the US officials on a possible nuclear deal with Iran, saying that they are not helpful.
Baqaei made the remarks after Trump and his Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for total dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program while stressing the path of diplomacy to resolve a decades-long dispute over the issue.
“Such conflicting messages does not affect our determination to stand by our fundamental positions,” Baqaei said.
“If there is sincerity in the claim that the American side’s demand is for the Islamic Republic of Iran not to possess a nuclear bomb, then I believe many issues can be worked out, as we have already declared – and demonstrated in practice – that we are not in any way seeking to weaponize our nuclear program,” the Iranian official said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also reacted to Trump’s remarks.
“If their ultimate goal is, as President Trump has repeatedly said, the only thing they can’t have is nuclear weapons, an agreement is achievable, but there is only one way to achieve it: diplomacy, based on mutual respect and mutual interests,” Araghchi said on X.
Donald Trump said on Sunday that his goal in discussions with Iran is “total dismantlement” of that nation’s nuclear program.
He also said that he is willing to listen to arguments for allowing Iran to pursue civilian nuclear energy while ending what he called its nuclear weapons program.
The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also called on Iran to “walk away” from uranium enrichment. In a Thursday interview with Fox News Rubio claimed that “the only countries in the world that enrich uranium are the ones that have nuclear weapons.”
Sanctions embody US insincerity in talks
The Iranian government spokesperson said on Tuesday that the sanctions imposed by the US against the Islamic Republic impact the lives of the country’s ordinary people while epitomizing Washington’s insincerity in negotiations with Tehran.
Speaking at a press briefing, Fatemeh Mohajerani excoriated the unilateral and arbitrary sanctions the Trump administration has since taking office in January imposed on Iran concomitant with indirect talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
“These sanctions are not being imposed for the first time; these sanctions target the Iranian people and put pressure on people’s medicine, healthcare, and lives. We have taken the necessary measures to counter the sanctions. These sanctions indicate America’s lack of sincerity for negotiations,” Mohajerani said.
“The necessary measures to counter the sanctions have been taken; we are prepared for all scenarios and we are completely ready,” she added.