Iran and the US begin expert talks in Oman over Tehran's rapidly
advancing nuclear program
[April 26, 2025]
By JON GAMBRELL
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Iran and the United States began in-depth
negotiations in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program on
Saturday, talks that likely will hinge on the Islamic Republic's
enrichment of uranium.
Iranian state television and a U.S. source reported the talks had begun
in Muscat, the mountain-wrapped capital of this sultanate on the eastern
edge of the Arabian Peninsula. However, neither Iranian Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi nor U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff offered any
immediate specifics or details on the talks that they'll lead.
Araghchi arrived Friday in Oman and met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr
al-Busaidi, who has mediated the two previous round of talks in Muscat
and Rome. Araghchi then visited the Muscat International Book Fair,
surrounded by television cameras and photojournalists. Video late
Saturday morning showed Araghchi heading to the talks.
Witkoff was in Moscow on Friday meeting Russian President Vladimir
Putin. He arrived Saturday to Oman, where the talks were expected to
start in the coming hours, a source familiar with Witkoff's travels told
The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the
closed-door negotiations.

Nuclear talks come after decades of tensions
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the
lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed
on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash
airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian
officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with
their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran's program.
However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion
years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on
edge over the devastating Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Trump, traveling to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, again said he
hoped negotiations would lead to a new nuclear deal. However, he still
held out the possibility of a military strike if they didn't.
“The Iran situation is coming out very well,” Trump said on Air Force
One. “We've had a lot of talks with them and I think we're going to have
a deal. I'd much rather have a deal than the other alternative. That
would be good for humanity."
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, visits the Muscat
International Book Fair in Oman, Friday, April 25, 2025. (AP Photo/
Fatima Shbair)

He added: “There are some people that want to make a different kind
of a deal — a much nastier deal — and I don’t want that to happen to
Iran if we can avoid it.”
Talks turn to experts
While Araghchi and Witkoff are again expected to speak through the
Omanis, experts on both sides also will begin negotiating details of
a possible deal.
From the Iranian side, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e
Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s expert team, said Mohammad Golzari, an
Iranian government official. Takht-e Ravanchi took part in the 2015
nuclear talks.
The U.S. technical team, which is expected to arrive in Oman on
Friday, will be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary
of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff. Anton does not have
the nuclear policy experience of those who led America’s efforts in
the 2015 talks.
Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. But Witkoff
has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview
that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all
enrichment must stop. That demand all enrichment stop also has been
repeated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
However, Iranians remain hopeful the talks could be successful, as
the Iranian rial has rebounded from historic lows during which it
took over 1 million rial to buy $1.
“It’s OK to negotiate, to make the nuclear program smaller or
bigger, and reach a deal,” Tehran resident Farzin Keivan said. “Of
course we shouldn’t give them everything. After all, we’ve suffered
a lot for this program.”
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Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to
this report.
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