The third round of consultations aimed at curbing Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons included technical discussions on what such a plan would look like.
US and Iranian experts held the first technical discussions on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.
Discussions in Muscat’s Oman capital have followed two famous meetings in the past few weeks between US Presidential envoy Steve Witkov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araguchi.
“All core principles, objectives and technical concerns have been addressed,” Al Busadi wrote on social media, adding that another round of high-level speeches is scheduled for tentatively on May 3rd.
In addition to Witkov and Araguchi, Iranian Deputy Minister Majid Takutoe Lavanchi represented a team of experts in Tehran, with Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy director, representing the American side.
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In an interview with Iranian provincial television, the parties exchanged written points throughout the day, describing the consultation as “very serious and work-focused.”
“This time, negotiations were much more serious than in the past, and we gradually took part in a deeper, more detailed discussion,” he said.
“The differences still exist in both the main issues and the details,” he added.
Iran previously claimed that its nuclear program was only for peaceful purposes, but in recent years it has begun to suggest that nuclear weapons are available, but has yet to decide to do so.
A report by the UN nuclear watchdog agency, released in early 2025, suggests that Iran could accelerate production of enriched uranium and produce about half a dozen nuclear warheads if it chooses to do so.
Trump has suggested that ongoing negotiations with Tehran are the ultimate attempt to prevent a full conflict between the two countries, and that he says he will bomb Iran if the nuclear program is not curbed.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombings and bombing things they’ve never seen before,” Trump wrote in a social media post on March 30.
It is unclear how long the discussion will take. One point to focus on negotiations could be the research reactor in Tehran.
Iranian authorities began enriching uranium in 2010 to provide fuel to the Tehran research reactors that the US gave to Iran by the US in the 1960s to conduct research.
The reactor was intended to run for only 25 years, but Tehran converted the facility and operated with the abundance of uranium with the help of international partners. When Iran visited the rich uranium in the late 2000s, Tehran decided to create its own high and abundant uranium for its fuel, never looked back.
Iran was once one of the top US allies in the Middle East. Iranian monarchies purchased American-made weapons and were seen by American leaders as an authoritarian yet modern force that provided a breakwater against the spread of communism.
The relationship ended in 1979 when the Iranian lord fled and the Islamic forces seized power. Since then, Iran’s Islamic Republic has opposed secular modernism associated with the United States and sought the destruction of Israel and the United States.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have reached a near-destructive point in recent years due to Iran’s financial and military support for terrorist groups, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houtis in Yemen.
