The fifth round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran concluded on Friday in Rome, with Iranian and Omani officials issuing positive statements about the future of the talks.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff held more than two hours of talks with an Iranian delegation in Rome on Friday about Tehran's nuclear program and agreed to meet again in the near future, a senior US official said.
"The talks continue to be constructive – we made further progress, but there is still work to be done. Both sides agreed to meet again in the near future. We are grateful to our Omani partners for their continued facilitation," the official said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi agreed that there was potential for progress in nuclear negotiations with the US after mediator Oman made several proposals, adding that the talks were complicated and more discussions were needed.
"We've just completed one of the most professional rounds of negotiations," Araqchi said.
The talks wrapped "with some but not conclusive progress," the Omani Foreign Minister said in a statement. "We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days, to allow us to proceed towards the common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement," the minister added.
The current round of negotiations holds particular importance due to firm and conflicting positions among the involved parties. Iran has stated that it will not agree to halt uranium enrichment.
The US maintains that uranium enrichment must be fully stopped and has expressed willingness to discuss the interpretation of "dismantling the nuclear program."
US officials have indicated that, in the absence of an agreement, they may consider other measures—including military options—to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, European representatives have signaled that failure to reach an agreement could lead to the activation of the SnapBack mechanism, reinstating a series of sanctions on Iran.
Iranians doubt nuclear deal will be reached
The fifth round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran seems unlikely to yield an agreement, CNN reported earlier on Friday, citing two Iranian sources.
The sources told CNN that Iran's participation in this round of talks is "solely to gauge Washington’s latest stance rather than pursue a potential breakthrough."
The sources also told CNN that Tehran "harbors mounting doubts about US sincerity in talks."