Iran says fourth round of ‘difficult’ nuclear talks with US ends in Oman

A fourth round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States has concluded in the Omani capital, Muscat, with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs describing them as “difficult but useful”.

After about three hours of negotiations on Sunday, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described the talks as “difficult but useful talks to better understand each other’s positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences”.“Next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman,” he said in a post on X.

Before the talks started, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that Iran has a legal right to civilian enrichment of uranium that cannot be subjected to any deal.

A landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which US President Donald Trump withdrew during his first term, allowed Iran to pursue its civilian nuclear activity but put restrictions on uranium enrichment to prevent Tehran from making a nuclear bomb.

“Enrichment is one of the achievements and honours of the Iranian nation. We have paid a heavy price for enrichment. The blood of our nuclear scientists has been spilled for this achievement,” he said in reference to scientists assassinated by Israel over the years.But Araghchi said Tehran remains committed to providing verifiable assurances that it will not be able to develop a nuclear bomb, which has been Trump’s main demand.

Araghchi visited Saudi Arabia and Qatar and met with senior officials to coordinate in the run-up to the latest nuclear talks.

In the Omani capital on Sunday, Iran’s top diplomat was accompanied by his deputies and other members of the team tasked with technical talks that Iran still emphasises are held “indirectly” through Omani mediation.

Tehran has also repeatedly expressed concern over “contradictory” remarks made to the media by US negotiators, who are led by Trump’s longtime friend and envoy Steve Witkoff.