Fresh talks between Iranian and US negotiators to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear program ended in Oman on Sunday with further negotiations planned, officials said, as Tehran insisted in public on continuing uranium enrichment.
This round of talks lasted between three and four hours and included US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, sources told The Jerusalem Post. Witkoff held direct and indirect discussions with Iran, a senior US administration official noted.
Though Tehran and Washington both have said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long nuclear dispute, they remain deeply divided on several redlines that negotiators will have to circumvent to reach a new nuclear deal and avert future military action.
Following the talks, Araghchi told Iranian state media that talks with the US were more “serious” compared to previous rounds, and that both sides have “a better understanding of each other’s views.”
Araghchi also said that the “talks are moving forward.” However, the foreign minister noted that Tehran’s uranium enrichment program is “non-negotiable.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the talks were “difficult but useful.”
The fourth round of indirect Iran-U.S. negotiations is concluded; difficult but useful talks to better undetstand each other's positions and to find reasonable & realistic ways to address the differences. Next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman.
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) May 11, 2025
“The fourth round of indirect Iran-US negotiations is concluded; difficult but useful talks to better understand each other’s positions and to find reasonable & realistic ways to address the differences. Next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman,” Esmaeil Baqaei said.
Oman’s foreign minister said the fourth round of Iran-US nuclear talks included “useful and original ideas” reflecting a shared wish to reach an “honorable” agreement.
The foreign minister said the fifth round of Iran-US nuclear talks will take place once both parties have consulted their leadership.
Senior US administration officials told Reuters that an agreement was reached to move forward with talks to continue working through technical elements.
Witkoff sets out red line for the US in nuclear talks
On Thursday, Witkoff told Breitbart News that Washington’s red line is: “No enrichment. That means dismantlement, no weaponization,” requiring the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
The fourth round of talks took place ahead of Trump’s Middle East visit. Trump, who has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails, has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since returning to the White House in January.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
A senior Iranian official close to the negotiating team said that US demands for “zero enrichment and dismantling Iran’s nuclear sites would not help in progressing the negotiations.”
“What the US says publicly differs from what is said in negotiations,” the official said, on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, Iran has flatly ruled out negotiating its ballistic missile program, and the clerical establishment demands watertight guarantees that Trump would not again ditch a nuclear pact.
Trump exited Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed tough sanctions that have devastated Iran’s economy.
Iran, which has long said its nuclear program is peaceful, has breached the 2015 pact’s nuclear curbs since 2019, including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons-grade, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.