Fourth round of US talks ‘significantly more serious’: Iranian FM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday described the fourth round of indirect talks with the United States as “significantly more serious” than previous rounds, suggesting the possibility of a new round taking place “next week,” according to Iranian state media.

The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Araghchi as saying, “In this round, we moved away from generalities and delved into the specifics. Naturally, this makes the negotiations more difficult.”

Araghchi added that “despite the difficulty and frankness of the talks, very useful discussions took place. It can now be said that both sides have a better understanding of each other’s positions.” He also noted that the key issues of disagreement were discussed more thoroughly, and that “the positions of both sides have come somewhat closer.”

The Iranian foreign minister further censured the “contradictory positions from the American side, especially in the media and public space, which does not help the negotiations at all.”

“This was one of our topics today - that this approach is ultimately not in the interest of the negotiations and needs to be corrected,” Araghchi said, affirming that the two sides have “decided to continue these negotiations.”

Following the talks, a senior US administration official was quoted by CNN as stating that the discussions were “both direct and indirect” and lasted over three hours, describing them as encouraging.

“Agreement was reached to move forward with the talks to continue working through technical elements,” the official said, adding that the US was “encouraged by today’s outcome” and looked forward to the next meeting “in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry Spokesperson Esmael Baghaei on Sunday described the indirect Iran-US negotiations as “difficult but useful talks to better understand each other's positions and to find reasonable and realistic ways to address the differences.”

The “next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman,” Baghaei announced.

Hours later, the Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi stated, “We completed another round of talks between Iran and the United States in Muscat today” and “the discussions included useful and original ideas reflecting a shared wish to reach an honorable agreement.”

“The 5th round of talks will take place once both parties have consult their leaderships,” Albusaidi added.

The Oman-mediated negotiations between Iran and the United States on Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, began on April 17 in Muscat.

Earlier this month, a top aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Larijani, said that nuclear negotiations with the US should be abandoned if they do not safeguard Iran’s interests.

The ongoing talks follow the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under which Iran agreed to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The accord unraveled in 2018, when US President Donald Trump, during his first term in office, unilaterally withdrew the US and reimposed biting sanctions on the Iran, which in turn began rolling back on its nuclear commitments.

Tehran, however, has repeatedly asserted that atomic weapons go against the Islamic republic’s doctrine and has maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

In late March, Trump warned that “there will be bombing” against Iranian interests if Tehran fails to reach an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

“If they don’t make a deal [with the US] there will be bombing, and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” he told NBC News.

In an indirect response to Trump’s threats, Khamenei warned of a strong response if Iran is attacked.

“They threaten to commit evil,” but “if evil is committed, the counterattack will definitely be mutually strong,” Khamenei said.