MUSCAT, Oman, May  11, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Iran and the United States wrapped
up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public
standoff over enrichment, but with both sides confirming plans for future
negotiations.

 This was the fourth round of talks that began nearly a month ago, marking
the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in
2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump's first term.

 Both sides had reported progress in the previous three rounds, and on
Sunday Iran said the meeting was "difficult but useful" while a senior US
official said Washington was "encouraged".

In a post on X, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the
talks could help "better understand each other's positions and to find
reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences".

 Baqaei earlier said negotiators would push for relief from US sanctions.

 The US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was
"encouraged by today's outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will
happen in the near future", without specifying when.

 Baqaei said that the "next round will be coordinated and announced by
Oman", which in turn said "the talks will take place once both parties...
consult their leaderships".

 According to the US official, the talks Sunday were "both direct and
indirect, and lasted over three hours".

"Agreement was reached to move forward" and "continue working through
technical elements", the official added.

 Iran entered the talks saying that its right to maintain uranium enrichment
was "non-negotiable", while Washington's chief negotiator Steve Witkoff has
called it a "red line".

Following the talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Tehran's
delegation, reiterated Iran's stance on enrichment, saying it "must continue
and there is no room for compromise on it".

 He noted the latest meeting was "more serious" than previous rounds,
telling Iranian state TV that Tehran may be open to limit the rate of
enrichment "to help build trust".
       
       - 'Pressure' -
       
 The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, with US
President Trump heading to the Gulf for his first major foreign tour next week,
and Araghchi just back from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

 Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the talks on Sunday "included
useful and original ideas reflecting a shared wish to reach an honourable
agreement".

 Yousuf Al Bulushi, chairman of the Muscat Policy Council think tank, said
that a breakthrough "will take quite some time, but I'm optimistic".

 He warned however that both sides had lost precious time during past
negotiations trying to clarify public statements "instead of focusing solely on
talks".

 Public "pressure is a tactic in negotiations... but this is really
impacting the atmosphere" at the table, said Bulushi.

 Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of
seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists that its nuclear
programme is for peaceful purposes.

 Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent purity -- far above the
3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal with Washington and other world powers,
but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.

 Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, said in a Friday interview that Iran's
"enrichment facilities have to be dismantled".

 "That's our red line. No enrichment," he told US right-wing outlet
Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining
low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.

Araghchi has repeatedly defended Iran's right to enrich uranium.
       
       - 'World's most dangerous weapon' -
     
       
 Iran adhered to the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers for a year
after Washington's withdrawal, before beginning to roll back its compliance.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum
pressure" approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning
of potential military action if it fails.

 The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran's
nuclear programme, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and the pace
of its enrichment activities.

  European governments are weighing whether to trigger the "snapback"
mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response
to Iranian non-compliance -- an option that expires in October.

 Araghchi, in an article published on Sunday by French weekly Le Point,
warned against a "strategy of confrontation".

Israel, which opposes the negotiations its close ally the United States has
conducted with regional foe Iran, said Tehran must not be allowed to obtain
nuclear weapons.

 "Iran is the most dangerous state in the world... the most dangerous regime
must not be allowed to obtain the world's most dangerous weapon," said Israeli
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

 Israel is the Middle East's only -- if undeclared -- nuclear-armed state.