The third round between Iran and the US on Tehran’s nuclear activity ended on Saturday, partly in writing, with a team of technical experts from both sides.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci said in an interview with Iranian provincial television that the talks were “very serious” and focused on the details of the potential agreement. He said that while there remains a disagreement between Tehran and Washington, he is “cautiously optimistic that we can make progress.”
Araguc said the negotiations will resume next Saturday, with Oman continuing to mediate consultations, including President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkov and a team of experts. However, US negotiators agreed that consultations would continue, but were not given timing, according to a senior US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss anonymous negotiations.
“The negotiation atmosphere was very serious and productive,” he said. “We’ve stepped away from some of the bigger issues, but that doesn’t mean we’ve solved all the differences.”
“We have disagreements on issues of large and small,” he added.
A senior US official said the next round of talks will take place in Europe and Oman will be promoted. Officials said consultations have been running for four hours and called them productive.
Another well-versed in negotiations said the next round is likely to occur in the next two weeks, but the US side said it will take some time to consider information and suggestions from Iranians. The US side wants to move consultations to a more convenient location closer to the US, the person said.
Both the US and Iranian teams proposed a negotiation framework and discussed various issues on Saturday, but no agreement was reached.
“I think we’re going to do business with Iran. No one else could,” Trump predicted in an interview with Time Magazine released Friday. During his first term, Trump abandoned his previous nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, saying it was a flawed agreement.
The talks could reduce the possibility of a US-backed Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and restructure regional and global security by preventing nuclear weapons production. The deal can also change Iran’s economic and political landscape by easing US sanctions and opening the country to foreign investors.
What happened on Saturday?
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle Eastern envoy. Abbas Aragut, Iranian Foreign Minister. And a team of technical experts from both sides met at the Gulf Sultans in Oman, who are intermediating consultations. Iranian state media reported that the speech began around noon.
The round included Nuts and Bolt’s “expert talks” that brought together the nuclear and financial teams to have the nuclear and financial teams together to have the technical details, including surveillance of Iran’s nuclear facilities and what happens to a highly abundant uranium stockpile.
Trump himself defines the purpose of the negotiations that would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But officials in his administration have sent mixed messages about what that means.
The narrower goal of preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons does not address other concerns about Israel’s advanced missile programmes, support of proxy militias around the Middle East, and hostility towards Israel.
Esmail Baghhai, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said on Saturday that the issue of the country’s defense and missile capabilities was “not raised in indirect negotiations with the United States and will not be raised.”
What is at risk?
The new nuclear agreement can delay or avoid a wider conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States. Israel and Iran have been trading direct attacks since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The New York Times reported last week that Israel is scheduled to attack Iran’s nuclear site next month, but the Israelis were shaken off by Trump, who wanted to negotiate an agreement with Tehran instead.
In an interview during his time, Trump said he didn’t stop the Israeli attacks.
“But I didn’t feel comfortable with them because I think we can do business without attacks. I hope we can,” he said. “Iran does not have nuclear weapons, so it could have to attack.”
Iran concentrates uranium to about 60% purity, only a small level needed to produce weapons. According to the UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, there are enough gatherings to build some bombs if they choose to make weapons into weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and says the IAEA has not found any signs of weaponization.
If that nuclear facility is attacked, Iran will say it will retaliate violently and will consider leaving the UN treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Iran’s economy and the future of 90 million people are on the line.
The years of sanctions have produced chronic inflation – exacerbated by poor economic management and corruption. Now many Iranians feel they are trapped in a downward spiral, and hope that the US-Iran deal will help.
What happened in the previous lecture?
The first round of the Nuclear Association took place in Oman two weeks ago, followed by the second round in Rome last weekend.
Both sides say the negotiations are constructive and they are moving in the right direction.
Iranian officials say they are trying to reduce enrichment levels to a reduced level to the level designated in the 2015 nuclear agreement with the Obama administration (3.67%).
What is the sticking point?
The question of whether or not Iran will allow it to continue to enrich uranium has split Trump’s advisers.
Witkov explains, along with surveillance, the agreement that could allow Iran to enrich uranium at the low levels needed to produce fuel for energy.
However, in a recent podcast interview, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that by importing rich uranium, like other countries, Iran can develop a private nuclear program without enriching uranium within the country.
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said the US is calling for a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program.
Foreign Minister Araguchi said Iran has invited him to invest in the nuclear program and help build more nuclear reactors as a measure of security.
“The trillion dollar opportunities our economy presents may be open to US businesses,” Araguchi said in a speech she shared on social media. “This includes companies that help generate clean electricity from non-aqueous carbon sources.”
Agreeing to agree to restrictions on how much Iran can enrich and what levels it can enrich is under criticism that Trump is replicating only key elements of the Obama-era nuclear deal.
Analysts say some possible measures to improve Obama-era transactions could include more stringent surveillance of Iran’s nuclear activities, joint ventures to operate nuclear facilities and make Iran’s guarantees permanent.
How did you get here?
Both sides were caught up in negotiations due to deep distrust.
The previous contract between Iran, the United States and other world powers signed during the Obama administration, was called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
It took steps to prevent Iran from weaponizing its nuclear program by keeping uranium enriched at 3.5%, moving the enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, and allowing surveillance cameras and inspections by the IAEA.
European companies withdraw from Iran, banks halted cooperation with Iran and feared US sanctions.
About a year after reaching the contract, Iran saw no financial gains, but left its obligations, increasing its level of uranium enrichment, gradually reaching 60%.
What’s coming next?
So far, there appears to be a political will on both sides to reach a new deal, and debate is expected to continue.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the top leader of Iran, who previously banned negotiations with Trump, approved the talks and said the negotiating team has gained his support.
But the deal isn’t necessarily round the corner.
The speech could still collapse at the technical level, which was the most difficult part of previous negotiations.
It is also possible that a provisional transaction will be reached to freeze uranium enrichment while permanent transactions are hashed.
Lara Jakes and David E. Sanger contributed the report.
