The US and Iran are set to hold another round of negotiations on Saturday, April 19, after indirect talks held over the weekend appeared to go well.
Following the negotiations in Oman, both the US and Iran described the engagement as “constructive.” The US side was led by President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the Iranian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The negotiations lasted about two and a half hours and were mostly held indirectly, with Omani mediators passing messages between each delegation. However, at the end of the talks, Witkoff and Araghchi spoke directly for just a few minutes.
“The discussions were very positive and constructive, and the United States deeply thanks the Sultanate of Oman for its support of this initiative,” the White House said in a statement after the negotiations.
The White House said that Witkoff’s “direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.”
According to Axios, the next round of talks will be held in Rome, and the US and Iranian delegations could hold negotiations in the same room with Omani mediators present.
Aragchi said in a post on X that the talks were “constructive and promising” and conducted “in an atmosphere of mutual respect.” He added that “both sides decided to continue the process in a matter of days.”
The fact that there appears to be progress signals that the US is focusing on seeking a commitment from Iran not to weaponize its nuclear program, a pledge Tehran has said it has stuck to and is willing to reaffirm.
Just a few weeks before the negotiations, US intelligence agencies said in their annual threat assessment that there’s no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon. Despite that conclusion, President Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran if a deal isn’t reached.
Iran hawks in the US and Israel have been demanding a deal that would involve the complete dismantlement of Iran’s civilian nuclear program, which is a non-starter for negotiations with Tehran. Iran has also rejected the idea of a deal that would place limits on Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for its allies in the region.
Trita Parsi, an Iran expert and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute, has said a narrow deal focused on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief from the US has a real chance of success.
“If it’s narrow, if it’s focused on the nuclear program, if the goal of the US is to prevent a nuclear weapon, then there is a likelihood for success,” Parsi told The Associated Press. “And it’s under those circumstances that I suspect that you will see talks, perhaps in rather short order, be elevated.”
A deal that limits Iran’s nuclear enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief would be very similar to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, which President Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.
