The US and Iran made “very serious” progress toward a new nuclear deal during marathon negotiations Saturday in Oman — with both sides exchanging written proposals for the first time and eyeing further talks as soon as next week.
A senior US official told The Post the four-hour talks with Tehran were “positive and productive” but still cautioned that “there is still much to do.”
“We agreed to meet again soon, in Europe, and we thank our Omani partners for facilitating these talks,” the official added.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Oman fresh off a Friday meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, underscoring the high-level stakes at play.
President Trump said the situation is “coming out very well” during conversations aboard Air Force One on Saturday, warning that there should be a peaceful deal rather than the alternative.
“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,” Trump said. “That would be good for humanity.”
The discussions in the capital city of Muscat marked a major shift from the previous two meetings, diving much further into technical details on limiting Iran’s nuclear program and lifting US sanctions, Iranian Foriegn Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
“This time, the negotiations were much more serious than in the past, and we gradually entered into deeper and more detailed discussions,” Araghchi told Iranian state media, adding, however, that differences still remain on major issues.
While Tehran has suggested a follow-up meeting could happen as soon as next weekend in Europe, Trump administration officials have only said they expect talks to continue soon.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks, said the two sides identified a “shared aspiration” to reach an agreement based on “mutual respect and enduring commitments.”
“Talks will continue next week with a further high-level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3rd,” he posted to X.
The negotiations came against the backdrop of fresh unrest inside Iran, where a massive explosion at a southern port Saturday killed at least eight people and injured more than 700.
Iranian authorities said the blast appeared tied to the mishandling of combustible chemicals used to make missile fuel that were stored at the port.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation of the incident.