Iran, U.S. hold talks on Tehran's nuclear program amid heightened Middle East tensions

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 12, 2025 11:13 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Iran and the United States held talks successful Oman connected Saturday aimed astatine jump-starting negotiations implicit Tehran's fast-advancing atomic program, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening subject enactment if determination is nary deal.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led Iran's delegation portion Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff headed the U.S. side. The talks were the archetypal betwixt Iran and a Trump administration, including his archetypal word successful 2017-21.

"Indirect talks betwixt Iran and the United States with the mediation of the Omani overseas curate person started," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei posted connected X.

Each delegation had its abstracted country and would speech messages via Oman's overseas minister, Baghaei said.

Iran's Foreign Ministry aboriginal released a connection saying the "indirect talks" lasted much than 2 and a fractional hours and the 2 parties agreed that negotiations would proceed adjacent week.

The ministry said astatine the extremity of Saturday's talks that the heads of the Iranian and American delegations talked for a fewer minutes successful the beingness of Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi as they near the talks.

WATCH | Trump says Iran 'in large danger' if talks fail:

Aim to de-escalate determination tensions

"The existent absorption of the talks volition beryllium de-escalating determination tensions, captive exchanges and constricted agreements to easiness sanctions [against Iran] in speech for controlling Iran's atomic program," an Omani root told Reuters.

Baghaei denied this relationship but did not specify what was false.

Oman has agelong been an intermediary betwixt Western powers and Iran, having brokered the merchandise of respective overseas citizens and dual nationals held by the Islamic Republic.

Threatened bombing implicit atomic program

Tehran approached the talks warily, skeptical they could output a woody and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to weaponry Iran if it does not halt its escalating uranium enrichment programme — seen by the West arsenic a imaginable pathway to atomic weapons.

While each broadside has talked up the chances of immoderate progress, they stay acold isolated connected a quality that has rumbled connected for much than 2 decades. Iran has agelong denied seeking atomic weapons, but Western countries and Israel judge it is covertly trying to make the means to physique an atomic bomb.

For the moment, it appeared Saturday's exchanges would lone beryllium indirect, arsenic Iran had sought, alternatively than face-to-face, arsenic Trump had demanded.

Ahead of the talks, Araghchi met with Oman's overseas curate successful the superior Muscat to contiguous Tehran's "key points and positions to beryllium conveyed to the U.S. side," Iranian authorities media reported.

There was nary connection yet connected the talks from the U.S. side.

Signs of advancement could assistance chill tensions successful a portion aflame since 2023 with wars successful Gaza and Lebanon, rocket occurrence betwixt Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks connected Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the authorities successful Syria.

However, nonaccomplishment would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration crossed a portion that exports overmuch of the world's oil. Tehran has cautioned neighbouring countries that person U.S. bases that they would look "severe consequences" if they were progressive successful immoderate U.S. subject onslaught connected Iran.

"There is simply a accidental for archetypal knowing connected further negotiations if the different enactment [U.S.] enters the talks with an adjacent stance," Araghchi told Iranian TV.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last accidental connected cardinal authorities matters, has fixed Araghchi "full authority" for the talks, an Iranian authoritative told Reuters.

Ballistic rocket programme not up for discussion

Iran has ruled retired negotiating its defence capabilities specified arsenic its ballistic rocket program.

Western nations accidental Iran's enrichment of uranium, a atomic substance source, has gone acold beyond the requirements of a civilian vigor programme and has produced stocks astatine a level of fissile purity adjacent to those required successful warheads.

Trump, who has restored a "maximum pressure" run connected Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 atomic pact between Iran and six satellite powers successful 2018 during his archetypal word and reimposed crippling sanctions connected the Islamic Republic.

Nuclear programme has advanced

Since then, Iran's atomic programme has leaped forward, including by enriching uranium to 60 per cent fissile purity, a method measurement from the levels needed for a bomb.

Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally, regards Iran's atomic programme arsenic an existential menace and has agelong threatened to onslaught Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its atomic ambitions.

Tehran's power passim the Middle East has been severely weakened implicit the past 18 months, with its determination allies — known arsenic the "Axis of Resistance" — either dismantled oregon severely damaged since the commencement of the Hamas-Israel warfare successful Gaza and the autumn of Bashar al-Assad successful Syria successful December.