Iran and the U.S. held "productive" talks in Oman on Saturday (April 12) and agreed to reconvene next week, Tehran said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear program with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal, Reuters reports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the talks - a first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his first term in 2017-21 - took place in a "productive, calm and positive atmosphere."
He added that both sides have agreed to continue the talks.
There was no immediate U.S. comment on the talks.
Saturday's exchanges were indirect and mediated by Oman, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded. Each delegation had its separate room and exchanged messages via Oman's foreign minister, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.
Araqchi said his delegation had a brief encounter with its U.S. counterpart headed by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after they exited the talks.
While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.
Signs of progress could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.
