CNN
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A fourth round of talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program have begun in Oman, according to Iranian state media, with the two sides aiming to overcome divisions that could scupper the tentative negotiations.
The talks, held indirectly and mediated by the Omani Foreign Minister, are aimed at addressing Tehran’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions.
That they are happening at all is something of a breakthrough – the talks are the highest-level in years – but signs of firm progress are slim.
Both countries have expressed a willingness to resolve their disputes through diplomacy. A central issue remains Iran’s demand to continue enriching uranium for its nuclear program, which is insists is peaceful, something the US calls a “red line.”
US President Donald Trump, who is headed to the Middle East next week, has threatened that the US would resort to military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, with Israel’s help, should Tehran fail to reach a deal with its interlocutors.
Iranian state media confirmed that the talks, again hosted by mediator Oman, are underway, although there has been no comment from the US.
The Iranian delegation is led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said before the talks got underway that the US side “holds contradictory positions which is one of the issues in our negotiations.”
“We have been clear about our boundaries,” Araghchi added, according to the Fars news agency.
Iranian officials told CNN on Saturday that recent talks with the US were “not genuine” from the American side. The Iranian source also reiterated that allowing uranium enrichment on Iranian soil is Iran’s “definite red line” in the negotiations.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been heading the American side, warned that if this session of talks were not productive, “then they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route.”
Speaking to Breitbart, Witkoff outlined the US’ expectations for the talks, including on the country’s uranium enrichment program. “An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he said.
Iran has said it will not surrender its capability to enrich uranium. The country has long insisted it does not want a nuclear weapon and that its program is for energy purposes.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, warned last month that Iran was “not far” from possessing a nuclear bomb.
“It’s like a puzzle. They have the pieces, and one day they could eventually put them together,” Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde.
This story has been updated.
