United States Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke" together over Tehran nuclear program on Saturday for the first time since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The next round of talks will take place Saturday, April 19, according to the Iranian and American statements.
United States Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke" together over Tehran nuclear program on Saturday for the first time since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
According to reports, Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week.
Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program if a deal isn't reached.
Iranian officials on the other hand have warned that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the White House described the discussions as “very positive and constructive,” while conceding the issues that need to be resolved “are very complicated.”
“Special Envoy Witkoff라이브 바카라 direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” the White House said.
The next round of talks will take place Saturday, April 19, according to the Iranian and American statements.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the meeting as 'constructive' to Iranian state TV, with four rounds of messages exchanged during the indirect portion.
“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," reported IRNA.
Badr al-Busaidi, Oman's foreign minister who shuttled between the two sides, said the countries have a “shared aim of concluding a fair and binding agreement.”
“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.”
Flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed a private jet from Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, arrived in Oman on Saturday morning. U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff had just met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday there.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry released footage of Tehran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Araghchi provided Iran's "stance and key points for the talks to be conveyed to the U.S. side."
IRNA's report suggested the meeting would be held later Saturday.
"If there is sufficient will on both sides, we will decide on a timetable. But it is still too early to talk about that," Araghchi said, in an audio clip published by IRNA. "What is clear now is that the negotiations are indirect, and in our view only on the nuclear issue, and will be conducted with the necessary will to reach an agreement that is on an equal footing and leads to securing the national interests of the Iranian people."
United States President Donald Trump and his Special Envoy to Middle East Steve Witkoff, both have described the talks as being "direct."
"I think our position begins with dismantlement of your program. That is our position today," Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal before his trip.
"That doesn't mean, by the way, that at the margin we're not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries."
He added: "Where our red line will be, there can't be weaponization of your nuclear capability,"
Associated Press in its reports said that while the U.S. side can offer sanctions relief for Iran's beleaguered economy, it remains unclear just how much Iran will be willing to concede. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran could only maintain a small stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.67%.
Today, Tehran's stockpile could allow it to build multiple nuclear weapons if it so chooses and it has some material enriched up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
Judging from negotiations since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal in 2018, Iran is likely toask to keep enriching uranium up to at least 20 per cent, reported AP.
One thing it won't do is give up its program entirely. That makes the proposal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a so-called Libyan solution — "you go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision, American execution" — unworkable.
AP also mentioned that Iranians including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have held up what ultimately happened to the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed with his own gun by rebels in the country's 2011 Arab Spring uprising, as a warning about what can happen when you trust the United States.
(With AP Inputs)