US: Nuclear talks with Iran made ‘very good progress’
ROME: Iran and the United States plan to meet over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme again next week, after the sides described their talks Saturday as “constructive” and making “very good progress.”
A US official confirmed that at a point during the negotiations in Rome, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke face to face.
Before they meet again in Oman on April 26, Araghchi said earlier that technical-level talks would be held in the coming days. That experts would be discussing details of a possible deal suggests movement in the talks and comes as Trump has pushed for a rapid deal while threatening military action against Iran.
The sides “made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,” according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a private diplomatic meeting.
Araghchi told Iranian state television that “the talks were held in a constructive environment and I can say that is moving forward. I hope that we will be in a better position after the technical talks.”
He added: “This time, we succeeded to reach a better understanding about a sort of principles and aims.”
While the US said both direct and indirect discussions were held, Iranian officials described them as indirect, like those last weekend in Muscat, Oman, with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi shuttling between them in different rooms.
“These talks are gaining momentum and now even the unlikely is possible,” al-Busaidi said on X.
In a separate post, Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the sides agreed to keep talking to seek a deal that ensures Iran is “completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy.”
That talks are even happening represents a historic moment, given the decades of enmity between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the US Embassy hostage crisis. Trump, in his first term, unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, setting off years of attacks and negotiations that failed to restore the accord that drastically limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Talks come as tensions rise in the Mideast
At risk is a possible American or Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic weapon. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have spiked over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza and after US airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens more.
“I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said Friday. “I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Before the Iran talks started, Witkoff met in Rome with Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to a person familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details that were not made public.
As Iran and the US edge toward nuclear talks, the IAEA may again verify compliance. Iran seeks relief for its struggling economy, while internal tensions grow. Diplomats met in Muscat, but Tehran insists on enrichment rights, rejecting any “surrender” akin to Libya’s disarmament deal.
