MUSCAT, Oman (Dispatches) – Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public standoff over enrichment, but with both sides confirming plans for future negotiations.
This was the fourth round of talks that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level indirect contact between the two sides since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Both sides had reported progress in the previous three rounds, and on Sunday Iran said the meeting was “difficult but useful” while a senior U.S. official said Washington was “encouraged”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks were “more serious and more straightforward compared to the previous three rounds”.
“We now understand each other better and hope to make further progress moving forward,” he added. 
In a post on X, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks could help “better understand each other’s positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences”.
Baghaei earlier said negotiators would push for relief from U.S. sanctions.
The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was “encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future”, without specifying when.
Baghaei said that the “next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman”, which in turn said “the talks will take place once both parties... consult their leaderships”.
According to the U.S. official, the talks Sunday were “both direct and indirect, and lasted over three hours”.
“Agreement was reached to move forward” and “continue working through technical elements”, the official added.
Iran entered the talks saying that its right to maintain uranium enrichment is “non-negotiable”.
Following the talks, Foreign Minister Araghchi, who led Tehran’s delegation, reiterated Iran’s stance on enrichment, saying it “must continue and there is no room for compromise on it”.
“Uranium enrichment capability is a source of pride and accomplishment for the Iranian nation, achieved at a great cost, including the blood of our nuclear scientists; this achievement is unequivocally non-negotiable,” he said.
The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, with U.S. President Trump heading to the Persian Gulf for his first 
major foreign tour next week, and Araghchi just back from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the talks on Sunday “included useful and original ideas reflecting a shared wish to reach an honorable agreement”.
Yousuf Al Bulushi, chairman of the Muscat Policy Council think tank, said that a breakthrough “will take quite some time, but I’m optimistic”.
Washington’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled”.
“That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told U.S. right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
Araghchi has repeatedly defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium. Before departing for Muscat on Sunday, the minister touched on the American side’s contradictory statements.
“We are witnessing contradictions both inside and outside the negotiation room, or in the media. The positions of the other side are constantly changing and shifting, which is one of the problems of the negotiation,” he said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, unlike the other side, has known and principled positions. We have moved in a completely straight line, and our positions are completely clear,” he said.
Iran adhered to the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers for a year after Washington’s withdrawal, before beginning to roll back its compliance.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.
Meanwhile, European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions -- an option that expires in October.
Araghchi, in an article published on Sunday by French weekly Le Point, warned against a “strategy of confrontation”.
On Sunday, he said, “If the intention is to ensure that Iran will not have nuclear weapons, this is completely achievable, and an agreement to this end is certainly attainable. 
“But if they have unusual and unrealistic demands that are not workable, it is natural that the negotiations will face difficulties.”