Iranian and U.S. officials wrapped up their fourth round of talks on issues related to Iran’s nuclear program on May 11, with both sides agreeing to proceed with further negotiations.
U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held three-hour-long talks in Muscat, the capital of Oman, which acted as a mediator in the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations.
The talks took place ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week. The United States wants Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of U.S.-imposed sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the recent indirect talks were “difficult but useful” in understanding each other’s positions and finding “realistic ways” to resolve their differences.
A senior U.S. official, speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, said the meeting involved both indirect and direct exchanges, while expressing optimism over the outcome.
“We are encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future,” the official said, adding that both sides have agreed to work through “technical elements.”
Albusaidi added that a fifth round will take place after both sides have consulted their respective leaderships.
Before his meeting with Araqchi on May 11, Witkoff told Breitbart News that Iran must dismantle its uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan to show the United States it has ceased its nuclear weapons development.
“An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again,” Witkoff said. “That’s our red line. No enrichment. That means dismantlement, it means no weaponization.”
Iran has red lines of its own.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Araqchi described the recent talks with Witkoff as “much more serious and candid” than previous rounds.
However, the Iranian minister said that there is “absolutely no room for compromise” when it comes to the country’s uranium enrichment used for nuclear weapons development.
“Its [enrichment] dimensions, scale, level, or amount might be subject to certain limitations for confidence-building purposes, for instance, as was done in the past, but the principle of enrichment itself is simply non-negotiable,” he told state TV.
Preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb has been a cornerstone of Trump’s foreign policy. Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018, calling it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions” ever negotiated by the United States.
