Iran, US hold nuclear talks in Oman, more negotiations set for April 19

Iran and the United States are set to resume negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly progressing nuclear programme next week, according to Iranian state television. This comes after the two countries held their first round of discussions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Though US officials have not issued any comment on the meeting, Iran’s state-run broadcaster reported that American Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke" — the first such direct engagement since the Obama administration.  

Tehran appears to have announced the interaction swiftly, possibly to pre-empt any social media post by Trump. However, the fact that the two officials met face-to-face, even briefly, was seen as a positive sign by Iranian media, which is often controlled by hard-liners. Araghchi later confirmed that the next round of talks would take place on Saturday, April 19...The high-stakes talks come amid increasing tension between the two nations, who have been adversaries for nearly fifty years. President Trump has repeatedly warned that the US may launch airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites if no agreement is reached. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have hinted at the possibility of developing a nuclear weapon, given their stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels. Associated Press reporters observed the convoy suspected to be transporting Witkoff leaving the Omani Foreign Ministry on Saturday afternoon. It later entered a compound where, shortly after, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei announced via X that “indirect talks” had begun. Later, Araghchi described the session as “constructive” during an interview with Iranian state television, noting that four rounds of messages were exchanged in the indirect part of the discussions. “Neither we nor the other side are interested in fruitless negotiations — so-called ‘talks for the sake of talks,’ wasting time, or drawn-out, exhausting negotiations,” he said. “Both sides, including the Americans, have said that their goal is also to reach an agreement in the shortest possible time. However, that will certainly not be an easy task.” Though both sides engaged directly, Araghchi attempted to play down the meeting by referring to it as “a brief initial conversation, greetings and polite exchanges,” possibly to avoid criticism from Iranian hard-liners.

Witkoff and Trump had previously insisted the talks be direct...Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who acted as a mediator between the two delegations, said both sides shared “a fair and binding agreement” as their goal. “I would like to thank my two colleagues for this engagement, which took place in a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security and stability,” al-Busaidi wrote on X. “We will continue to work together and put further efforts to assist in arriving at this goal.”

Although the US could potentially offer relief from economic sanctions, it remains uncertain how much Iran is willing to compromise. Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran was limited to maintaining a small stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.67 percent. Currently, Iran holds enough enriched uranium to produce multiple nuclear weapons, with some material enriched up to 60 percent — just short of weapons-grade. Given past negotiations, Iran is likely to demand the right to enrich uranium up to at least 20 percent, but it has made clear that it will not abandon its programme entirely. This renders Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s suggestion of a “Libyan solution” — involving American-led strikes and dismantling of facilities — unrealistic.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and others have long cited the fate of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed in 2011, as a cautionary tale about trusting the United States.