The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed there will be a technical delegation at the Iran-US talks in Oman on Sunday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has visited Saudi Arabia and is due to visit Qatar for consultations in the run-up to the fourth round of indirect nuclear talks with the United States, which will take place in Oman on Sunday.
The future direction of Iran’s nuclear programme, its enrichment of uranium, and sanctions relief remain the key issues.
Araqhchi’s Gulf tour on Saturday comes after Tehran confirmed the latest round Friday: “The negotiations are moving forward, and naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and reviews are needed,” Araghchi said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said on Friday that, after “coordination with both Iran and the US”, the delayed talks would go ahead in Muscat. The fourth round, initially scheduled for May 3 in Rome, was postponed for what Oman described as “logistical reasons.”
A source familiar with the matter said on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to attend the meeting in Oman.
Ongoing dispute over nuclear programme
The talks come against the backdrop of a long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The meeting is the latest effort to revive diplomacy after years of rising tensions.
Successive US administrations have sought to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. A sustained effort by world powers during the Barack Obama administration culminated with a 2015 agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The multilateral agreement created a framework for Iran to receive much-needed relief from international sanctions, in exchange for reducing its uranium enrichment and submitting to inspections of its nuclear facilities.
But when Trump succeeded Obama as US president, he unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear agreement in 2018, causing the deal to crumble.
Some Western countries argue that Iran’s programme, accelerated after the US walkout from the 2015 accord, is aimed at developing weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear activity is entirely civilian.
Trump himself has acknowledged tensions in his policy on Iran, saying at the start of his second term that hawkish advisors were pushing him to step up pressure reluctantly.
In an interview on Thursday, Trump said he wanted “total verification” that Iran’s contested nuclear work is shut down, but through diplomacy.
“I’d much rather make a deal” than see military action, Trump told the conservative radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
“There are only two alternatives – blow ’em up nicely or blow ’em up viciously,” Trump said.
In an interview with Breitbart News on Friday, Witkoff said the US would “take [Iran] at their word” that they do not want nuclear weapons, but set out specific conditions for verifying such a position.
“If that’s how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel that they have there and send it to a faraway place — and they have to convert to a civil programme if they want to run a civil programme,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier raised the possibility of Iran importing enriched uranium for any civilian energy.
Iran’s Gulf outreach
Araqchi’s trips to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Saturday are part of what he describes as “continuous consultations” with neighbouring states.
He said the visits aimed to address “concerns and mutual interests” regarding the nuclear issue.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed the presence of a technical delegation in the talks in Oman on Saturday.
In an interview with Mehr News, Baghaei stated that the Iranian delegation is comprised of experts and specialists relevant to the current phase of the negotiations. He did not comment on the US team.
