US and Iran convey cautious positivity after wrapping up third round of nuclear talks

CNN
 — 

Leaders from the United States and Iran painted a positive but cautious picture of talks between the nations over Iran’s nuclear program Saturday, after the third phase of the discussions wrapped up in Oman.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff led the delegations. Technical experts also held talks over Iran’s nuclear program and what a deal would look like.

“Today’s third round of talks, in Muscat, were positive and productive. This latest round of direct and indirect discussions lasted over four hours. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal. We agreed to meet again soon, in Europe, and we thank our Omani partners for facilitating these talks,” a senior administration official said.

Experts have described the third round of talks as a more difficult phase of technical negotiations as Washington lays out its conditions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there are “still differences in major issues and in details” and said they are “hopeful but cautious” about coming to an agreement.

“This was a very calm and organized environment to facilitate conversations. The negotiations this time were much more serious than previous ones; we engaged in conversations that were more detailed, more expert-level level and more technical. The expert conversations also went well,” Araghchi said on Saturday.

Saturday’s talks come as Tehran and Washington have remained sharply divided on the details of Iran’s nuclear program, making it a fundamental issue both sides are trying to resolve. The US and Iranian delegations met last Saturday for a second round of high-level talks amid tempered optimism about a diplomatic way forward and after an initial round was held in the Omani capital Muscat earlier this month.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said talks will continue next week.

Both the US and Iran have described previous talks as positive, despite President Donald Trump’s threat of US and Israeli military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites should Tehran fail to accept a deal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the US does not envision Iran enriching its own nuclear material, but rather importing the nuclear fuel – uranium – needed for a civilian energy program. Iran has repeatedly stated that its right to enrich uranium is non-negotiable.

Iran and world powers, including the US, reached a nuclear deal in 2015, known as JCPOA, under which Iran had agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have crippled its economy.

Trump abandoned that agreement in 2018 during his first presidential term. Iran retaliated by advancing its uranium enrichment up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level needed to make a bomb.

The president has said that he wants a “stronger” deal with Iran than the one reached in 2015 under the Obama administration, but US officials have flip-flopped on their demands over the past month.