Iran and US give experts framework for nuclear deal after 'progress' in talks

(Patria) - Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to start drafting a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after talks that a US official described as "very good progress", Reuters reported last night.

US President Donald Trump, who abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, threatened to attack Iran if it did not quickly reach a new agreement that would prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

In their second indirect meeting in a week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for four hours in Rome with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff through an Omani official who relayed messages between them.

After the talks, Araqchi described the engagement as useful and conducted in a constructive atmosphere.

"We were able to make some progress on a number of principles and goals and ultimately reached a better understanding," Araqchi said. "It was agreed that negotiations would continue and move to the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. Experts will have the opportunity to start drafting a framework for the agreement."

The top negotiators will meet again in Oman next Saturday to "review the work of the experts and assess how it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement," he added.

Echoing cautious comments by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei last week, he said: "We cannot say with certainty that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is also no reason to be overly pessimistic."

Iran, which calls its nuclear program peaceful, says it is ready to discuss limited restrictions on its atomic work in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

A Trump administration official confirmed that the two sides agreed to meet again next week. "Today, during four hours in Rome in our second round of talks, we made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions," he said.

Trump told reporters on Friday: "I am for preventing Iran, very simply, from having nuclear weapons. They cannot have nuclear weapons. I want Iran to be great, prosperous, and great."

Washington's ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 Iran deal from which Trump withdrew in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.

Since 2019, Iran has exceeded the 2015 deal's limits on uranium enrichment, producing stockpiles far beyond what the West says is necessary for a civilian program.

A senior Iranian official, who described Iran's negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, stated Iran's red lines as never agreeing to dismantle uranium enrichment centrifuges, completely halting enrichment, or reducing stockpiles of enriched uranium below the levels agreed in the 2015 deal.