Iran says nuclear talks with US are 'progressing' and will continue next week

Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States ended Saturday in Rome after four hours of discussions, Iranian state television reported, showing footage of a delegation as it left the venue.

The "indirect" negotiations took place at the residence of the Omani ambassador, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaïl Baghaï told the state broadcaster.

The meeting was mediated by the Sultanate of Oman, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. There has been no confirmation so far on whether Araghchi and Witkoff spoke directly this time as well.

Abbas Araghchi revealed to the media that "talks are progressing" and that technical discussions at the expert level will begin in Oman on Wednesday, ahead of another round of talks between the delegations in a week's time.

"Naturally, the experts have more time to delve into the details and work on designing a framework for an agreement," he added.

Baghaï confirmed that Iran and the U.S. will hold new talks next Saturday.

Several Iranian media reports said that this second round between the countries to understand each other on the nuclear issue took place in a "constructive atmosphere," although the two delegations were in separate rooms.

So far the U.S. envoy and his delegation have not commented on the issue.

The first round of talks was also considered "constructive"

The US and Iran resumed talks on Tehran's nuclear program this March 19 in the Italian capital, a week after a first round also considered "constructive" by both countries, without diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The first round took place last Saturday in Muscat, the Omani capital, and was also mediated by the Arabian Peninsula country.

The talks resumed after threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to launch military action against Iran if an agreement on its nuclear program was not reached.

Iran has reneged on a commitment to "not enrich uranium"

In 2015, during his first term, Trump withdrew from the multilateral pact in place to restrict the Islamic Republic's nuclear development in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said Thursday that Iran is "not far" from getting the nuclear weapon. Tehran, however, claims its program is being developed for civilian purposes.

Since his return to the White House in January, the Republican re-established his policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran, tightening economic sanctions and threatening to bomb the Islamic Republic.

Following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, Iran has gone back on its commitment not to enrich uranium above the 3.67% set by that pact, which was also signed by Germany, China, France, the United Kingdom and Russia.

According to the latest IAEA report, the country has 60% enriched uranium, approaching the 90% required to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on European countries to quickly make "a major decision" on the "reinstatement of sanctions" on Tehran as he claimed there was a breach of the 2015 agreement.