The United States and Iran led to Oman a fourth cycle of “difficult but useful” negotiations, according to Tehran

While the head of Iranian diplomacy has reaffirmed that the right of his country to the enrichment of uranium was “Non -negotiable”the United States and Iran led, Sunday, May 11 in Oman, a fourth cycle of negotiations on the nuclear program of Tehran-information confirmed by the Iranian news agency Isna.

“These difficult but useful discussions have made it possible to better understand everyone’s positions and find reasonable and realistic solutions to approach differences. The next cycle will be coordinated and announced by Oman ”said the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, on X.

For its part, the United States say they are “Encouraged by results” of these discussions “Direct and indirect [qui] lasted more than three hours “said on Sunday a senior American official on condition of anonymity, adding that the next meeting “In the near future” is expected “Inevitiously”.

At the head of the Iranian delegation, Abbas Araghtchi negotiated in the Omanaise capital, Muscat, with the emissary for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, head of the American delegation, in a context of increasing opposition to the enrichment of Iranian uranium expressed by Washington. “We had new consultations this morning in Tehran and, during this cycle, we hope to reach at a decisive moment”said Araghtychi before flying to Oman.

Iran and the United States, which has no longer had diplomatic relations since 1980, have held three sessions of talks under omanar mediation since April 12. The American-Iranian talks aim to conclude a new agreement supposed to prevent Iran from having atomic weapons, an ambition that Tehran has always denied, in exchange for a lifting of sanctions which paralyze its economy.

The Sunday’s meeting in Oman comes a few days before a regional tour of the American president, Donald Trump, who will lead him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Wednesday, his vice-president, J. D. Vance, judged negotiations with Iran in “Good track”Mr. Araghchi reports on Friday of ” progress “ during previous sessions.

Steve Witkoff warned Friday, however, that the Trump administration would oppose any enrichment, after initially suggested flexibility on this point. “This means dismantling, the ban on militarization, and that Natanz, Fordo and Ispahan [leurs trois installations d’enrichissement] are dismantled “he told the conservative media Breitbart News. As for the talks, “If they are not productive on Sunday, they will not continue and we will have to take another path”he added.

Israel refuses that Iran will have “the most dangerous weapon”

Iran currently enriches uranium at 60 %, well beyond the limit of 3.67 % set by the 2015 agreement, while a rate of 90 % is necessary for military use. Its stocks of fossil matter worry the Western powers. Tehran will demand the lifting of sanctions and the recognition of his right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry of Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei said.

“Pressure is a tactic used in negotiations, it serves as a lever but deeply affects the atmosphere of talks”said at the France-Presse Yousuf Al-Bulushi agency, which chairs the Omani reflection group, Muscat Policy Council, established in November 2024. “The two parties are reduced to discuss the discussions themselves”he added, in reference to technical meetings aimed at examining the limitation and control of the Iranian nuclear program. “There has not yet been a breakthrough, and it will take time, but I remain optimistic”he continued.

An agreement concluded in 2015 between Iran and the major powers to supervise its nuclear program in exchange for lifting of international sanctions imposed in Tehran became obsolete after the withdrawal of the United States in 2018, during the first term of President Donald Trump. Western countries, first of all, of which the United States has long suspected Iran to seek to have the atomic weapon, which Tehran denies, affirming that his program is intended for civil ends.

European governments question the opportunity to trigger a mechanism provided for by the 2015 agreement, which makes it possible to restore the UN sanctions in the event of non-compliance by Iran of its commitments, an option that expires in October. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, hostile to talks between Iran and the United States, called for the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear installations and the cessation of his ballistic missile program as part of a credible agreement. Sunday, the head of Israeli diplomacy, Gideon Saar, estimated that Iran should not be able to have “The most dangerous weapon in the world”.

For his part, Tehran insists that the talks relate solely to the nuclear issue and the lifting of the sanctions, excluding any negotiations on the military arsenal. In a platform At Point, On Sunday, the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghthchi, warns European countries against their “Confrontation strategy” on nuclear, which ” risk of provoking a global nuclear proliferation crisis which would first affect the Europeans themselves ”