Muscat - The first round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States over sanctions relief and nuclear issues ended on Saturday, with both sides agreeing to resume discussions next week, according to the official Iranian media.
As both started high-stakes talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on Saturday, the Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi expressed his happiness with the strong and solid relations between the two countries in various fields, praising the Sultanate of Oman's responsible stance on regional issues and developments, according to the official Twitter account of the Iranian Foreign Ministry (@IRIMFA_AR).
He also considered Muscat's hosting of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States as evidence of this positive approach, and thanked the Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr al Busaidi, for his keen interest in this issue.
Many initial and fundamental issues will become clear on Saturday, said, adding, “Sufficient determination of the two sides will allow us to decide on a timetable, however, it’s still early to talk about it.”
The talks will be the highest-level discussions since an international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme crumbled with Trump pulling out in 2018 during his first term in office.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are leading the discussions behind closed doors in Muscat.
Esmaeil Baqaei, head of Head of the Center for Public Diplomacy and Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Iran, posted that indirect talks between Foreign Minister Dr. Araqchi and Steve Witkoff, the US President's Special Representative for the Middle East, have started with the mediation of Oman's Foreign Minister."
Speaking on the sidelines of the indirect talks in Muscat, Baqaei “This is a start, therefore it is only natural that the sides exchange their fundamental principles [only] via the Omani intermediary at this stage. Thus, we don’t expect this round to take long.”
The focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges, and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran's nuclear programme," the Reuters agency quoted a source.
An Iranian negotiator said that the atmosphere in the ongoing indirect talks between Iran and the United States remains positive, with message exchanges still underway.
"I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can't have a nuclear weapon," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, hours before the talks were due to begin.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's adviser Ali Shamkhani said Tehran was "seeking a real and fair agreement", adding that "important and implementable proposals are ready".
He said on social media platform X that if Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be "smooth."
The talks' format has not been confirmed, with the United States calling them direct talks but Iran insisting on an intermediary.
The delegations will start indirect negotiations after a meeting with Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, the Foreign Minister.
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