Above photo: Getty Images.
Omani officials said a fourth meeting is tentatively scheduled for next week.
It will likely include the participation of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The third round of indirect nuclear talks between Iranian and US officials concluded on 26 April after several hours of meetings in the Omani capital, Muscat.
“The talks were much more serious than in the past, and we entered into more detailed and technical discussions. The presence of experts was useful,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is leading the Iranian delegation, told reporters following the talks.
“Positions were exchanged in writing several times. Overall, the atmosphere was quite serious and businesslike, and we stayed away from major discussions,” Araghchi added, stressing that the “businesslike” atmosphere created “hope for progress, although this is a cautious hope.”
He also revealed that the next round of talks will likely occur next Saturday, with details to be announced by Omani officials.
“The talks in Muscat were positive and productive. There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” a senior US official said in a statement sent to reporters.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has mediated the two previous rounds of talks in Muscat and Rome, said that the officials from Tehran and Washington “identified a shared aspiration to reach agreement based on mutual respect and enduring commitments.”
“Core principles, objectives, and technical concerns were all addressed. Talks will continue next week with a further high-level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3,” he announced via social media.
Before the talks began on Saturday, technical teams from both sides met to discuss creating a framework for a potential replacement for the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the former nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump scrapped during his first term in office.
From the Iranian side, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-e Ravanchi led Tehran’s expert team, while the US technical team was directed by Michael Anton, the director of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s policy planning staff.
“We will bring the necessary experts with us, depending on the topics. We had economic experts in this meeting for the first time. An expert from the Atomic Energy Organization should also be added from the next meeting,” Araghchi said in his comments to reporters.
The top Iranian diplomat also stressed that Tehran is only negotiating “the nuclear issue in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.”
Ahead of Saturday’s meetings in Muscat, Trump told Time magazine that he would “lead the pack” in a potential war against Iran if a new nuclear deal is not achieved.
“I may go in very willingly if we can’t get a deal. If we don’t make a deal, I’ll be leading the pack,” Trump said.