MUSCAT, Oman (Dispatches) — Iran and the U.S. held in-depth negotiations in Oman on Saturday, ending the discussions with a promise for more talks and perhaps another high-level meeting next weekend.
The talks ran for several hours in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of this sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told national television after the talks that the parties exchanged written points throughout the day in discussions that he described as “very serious and work-focused.”
“This time, the negotiations were much more serious than in the past, and we gradually entered into deeper and more detailed discussions,” he said. “We have moved somewhat away from broader, general discussions — though it is not the case that all disagreements have been resolved. Differences still exist both on major issues and on the details.”
A senior U.S. administration official said that the talks were “positive and productive”, the Associated Press reported.
“This latest round of direct and indirect discussions lasted over four hours,” the official said on condition of anonymity to discuss the talks. “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.”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has mediated the two previous round of talks in Muscat and Rome, offered a positive note at the end of Saturday’s negotiations.
Iran and the U.S. “identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments,” al-Busaidi posted on X. “Core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed. Talks will continue next week with a further high level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3.”
Araghchi arrived Friday in Oman

 on the eve of the talks and visited the Muscat International Book Fair, surrounded by television cameras and photojournalists. 
Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, was in Moscow on Friday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and arrived on Saturday to Oman.
The talks seek to lift the economic sanctions that the U.S. has illegally imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity.
Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal was achieved after months of grueling talks, including with the U.S. However, President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of tensions.  
Trump, traveling to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, again said that he hoped negotiations would lead to a new nuclear deal. However, he still rehashed his typical threat of a military strike if they didn’t.
“The Iran situation is coming out very well,” Trump said on Air Force One. “We’ve had a lot of talks with them and I think we’re going to have a deal. I’d much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That would be good for humanity.”
He added: “There are some people that want to make a different kind of a deal — a much nastier deal — and I don’t want that to happen to Iran if we can avoid it.”
From the Iranian side, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi headed up Tehran’s expert team, said Muhammad Golzari, an Iranian government official. Takht-e Ravanchi took part in the 2015 nuclear talks.
The U.S. technical team was led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff. Anton doesn’t have the nuclear policy experience of those who led Washington’s efforts in the 2015 talks.
Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. But Witkoff has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all enrichment must stop. The demand that all enrichment stop also has been repeated by Rubio. Iran has made it clear that its right to enrichment is a red line.  
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei reiterated Tehran’s insistence on its legitimate right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
In a post on his X account, Baghaei said the talks were proceeding in a “serious” manner, where the parties exchanged views on terminating sanctions effectively, building confidence in the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, and safeguarding Tehran’s right to civilian nuclear energy.
Baghaei also emphasized that Iran’s defense and missile capabilities were not raised in the talks and will never be the topic of negotiations.
The previous rounds of indirect talks were held in Muscat and Rome on April 12 and 19 respectively.