- The last diplomacy seen as the last opportunity to avoid war.
- Iran has indicated it could make concessions.
- Tehran will show flexibility, says ministry spokesman.
The United States and Iran made progress in talks on Tehran’s nuclear program on Thursday, mediator Oman said, but hours of negotiations ended with no sign of a breakthrough that could prevent possible US attacks amid a massive military buildup.
The two sides plan to resume negotiations shortly after consultations in their countries’ capitals, with technical-level discussions scheduled for next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X after the day’s meetings in Switzerland.
Badr Albusaidi will hold talks with US Vice President JD Vance and other US officials in Washington on Friday, MS NOW reported late on Thursday. Neither the White House nor Oman’s embassy in Washington immediately responded to requests for comment.
Any substantial steps toward an elusive deal between long-time foes Washington and Tehran could reduce the looming prospects of US President Donald Trump carrying out a threatened attack on Iran that many fear could escalate into a broader war.
But indirect talks on Tuesday ended without an agreement, which continues to leave the region in suspense.
The Omani minister’s upbeat assessment came after indirect talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Geneva, with one session in the morning and the second in the afternoon.
“We have ended the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran,” said Badr Albusaidi.
But with many analysts seeing the latest diplomacy as the last chance before Trump decides to go to war, Badr Albusaidi did not provide details and stopped short of saying that the two sides had overcome their biggest obstacles to reaching a deal.
Araqchi described the talks as some of the most serious Iran has had with the United States, telling Iranian state television: “We reached an agreement on some issues, and there are differences regarding other issues.”
“It was decided that the next round of negotiations will take place soon, in less than a week,” he said. The Iranians, he added, had clearly expressed their demand for the lifting of US sanctions, which Washington has long insisted would only come after deep concessions from Tehran.
There was no immediate comment from the US negotiating team on the outcome of the talks. But Axios cited a senior U.S. official as saying the Geneva talks were “positive.”
Discussions over the decades-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear work come as fears grow of a conflagration in the Middle East. Trump has repeatedly threatened to take action if a deal is not reached, and the US military has built up its forces in waters near the Islamic Republic.
‘Intense and serious conversations’
A senior Iranian official said Reuters On Thursday, the United States and Iran could reach a framework for an agreement if Washington separated “nuclear and non-nuclear issues.”
The Trump administration has insisted that Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups in the region must be part of the negotiations.
After the morning session, Badr Albusaidi stated that the two sides had exchanged “creative and positive ideas.”
But a senior Iranian official said at the time that some gaps still needed to be narrowed.
Washington, which believes Tehran is seeking the ability to build a nuclear bomb, wants Iran to abandon all uranium enrichment, a process that produces fuel for atomic power plants but can also produce material for a nuclear warhead.
Iran has long denied wanting a bomb and said earlier Thursday it would show flexibility in talks. Reuters reported on Sunday that Tehran was offering new indefinite concessions in exchange for the removal of sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program was a “big problem” that would eventually have to be addressed.
The missiles were “designed solely to attack the United States” and pose a threat to regional stability, he said, but he offered no evidence to support the claim that the US territory could be the target.
Trump threatens ‘really bad things’
Trump said on February 19 that Iran must reach a deal in 10 to 15 days, warning that “really bad things” would happen otherwise.
He briefly laid out his arguments for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, stressing that while he preferred a diplomatic solution, he would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
In June, the United States joined Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites and has been again increasing pressure on Tehran since January, when Trump threatened to intervene over its crackdown on nationwide protests that left thousands dead.
Trump has since deployed fighter jets and aircraft carrier strike groups to the region.
Iran responded to last summer’s attacks by firing volleys of missiles at Israel and has threatened strong retaliation if attacked again, raising fears of a broader regional conflict that has alarmed Gulf oil producers.
Inside Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces the most serious crisis of his 36 years in office, with an economy collapsing under tighter sanctions and renewed protests following major riots and crackdowns in January.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which “clearly means that Tehran will not develop nuclear weapons,” reiterating a religious decree issued in the early 2000s.
