Iran-US nuclear talks to continue in Oman on Saturday, Tehran says
LONDON -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the second round of indirect talks with the United States are expected to take place in Oman on Saturday, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
The first round of talks were "well executed" in their "initial steps," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a post on his official X account on Tuesday.
"The Oman talks is a movement that's been decided upon and well executed in its initial steps," he said in a post. "The red lines are clear. They're clear for the other side, and they're clear for us too," he added in another post.
An Iranian delegation had arrived in Oman's capital, Muscat, last Saturday to meet with U.S. officials for "indirect talks" about Tehran's nuclear program, Iranian state-owned news agency IRIB reported.
The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spoke directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as part of "very positive and constructive" talks.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted to their telegram channel Saturday that the talks ended after two and a half hours. It says the two parties "exchanged the positions of their respective governments" on Iran's nuclear program and on sanctions. There had been speculation that the second round of talks would be held in a European country.
Iran's supreme leader advised Iranian officials on Tuesday not to count on the Oman talks as they “may or may not yield results.”
“We're neither overly optimistic nor overly distrusting about the Oman talks,” he said.
He added that the country's issues should not be tied to these talks and the mistake made in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- the former nuclear deal Iran signed with the U.S. and other countries – must be avoided as they made everything dependent on the progress of the talk.
ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Victoria Beaule and Guy Davies contributed to this report.
