"What matters is that the format and framework of interaction between Iran and the United States will remain unchanged, and indirect negotiations will continue with Omani mediation," Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said during his weekly presser.
But Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in an EU meeting on Monday that the next talks will be held in Rome, AFP reported.
Baghaei defended Tehran’s approach for indirect talks by saying that “direct negotiations in a situation where one side insists on an authoritarian approach and uses the language of threats and resort to force are neither useful nor acceptable to a party like the Islamic Republic of Iran, nor can they lead to results.”
"Therefore, we will continue with the same form and method that we have chosen,” he added.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi began their high-stake talks on Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief on Saturday in Oman. Both Washington and Tehran reported positive results after the indirect talks.
“Our main issue is the lifting of the oppressive sanctions that have been imposed on Iran for decades, and this is our serious demand that we have raised and are pursuing,” Baghaei said.
Araghchi and Witkoff two parties were in separate rooms with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi mediating between them. Iran’s state-run IRNA reported that Araghchi, Witkoff and Albusaidi met as they were leaving the venue of the talks and chatted for a few minutes.
US President Donald Trump would like to strike a new nuclear deal with Iran after he, in 2018, withdrew from a previous pact that saw Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear enrichment program in exchange for much-needed relief from crippling sanctions. After exiting the deal, Trump imposed biting sanctions on the Islamic republic, which in turn began rolling back on its nuclear commitments.
Upon returning to office, Trump in early February restored his “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran, arguing that it is “too close” to a nuclear weapon. He has threatened military action if they fail to reach a deal.
Iran has always maintained that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. In a rare op-ed on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that “under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.”
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