Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to task experts to start drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after a second round of talks following President Donald Trump's threat of military action.
At their second indirect meeting in a week, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi negotiated for almost four hours in Rome with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, through an Omani official who shuttled messages between them.
Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is peaceful, says it is willing to discuss limited curbs to its atomic work in return for lifting international sanctions.
Speaking on state TV after the talks, Araqchi described them 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," he said.
"It was agreed that negotiations will continue and move into the next phase, in which expert-level meetings will begin on Wednesday in Oman. The experts will have the opportunity to start designing a framework for an agreement."
The top negotiators would meet again in Oman next Saturday to "review the experts’ work and assess how closely it aligns with the principles of a potential agreement,” he added.
Echoing cautious comments last week from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he added: "We cannot say for certain that we are optimistic. We are acting very cautiously. There is no reason either to be overly pessimistic."
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. side following the talks. Trump told reporters on Friday: "I'm for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can't have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific."
Washington's ally Israel, which opposed the 2015 agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018, has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
Since 2019, Iran has breached and far surpassed the 2015 deal's limits on its uranium enrichment, producing stocks far above what the West says is necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, who described Iran's negotiating position on condition of anonymity on Friday, listed its red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
37 Comments
kurisupisu
It doesn’t seem logical for the US to possess enough nuclear weaponry to destroy life on earth completely several times over yet Iran cannot?
marc laden
When I read this article i get the feeling.. ( it is designed that way) Trump is the bad guy... Iran is so good as an angel ......
But in reality Trump made a big victory over Iran with out using any single bullet.. But some " special sided" media do not want to say the truth..
GuruMick
Just repackage the old agreement....call it "The Trump Deal' and all will be well.
Underworld
Otherwise known as "Trump's folly". Cancelling an anti-proliferation deal with Iran without having an alternative.
Hopefully, he can atone for his folly with a new deal.
TokyoLiving
The world's biggest bully with thousands of nuclear warheads in its arsenal, telling another country how to manage its nuclear assets..
The desperate of US of inevitable losing of its world power..
WoodyLee
Got an Idea, ask Bibi to handle it.
bass4funk
Yes
Who would like nothing more than to destroy Israel and the U.S. so No, they can’t have nukes.
No desperation and not losing anything, just ask China, who else will buy their junk?
wallace
Trump's dismissal of the Obama nuclear deal led Iran from having 6% enrichment uranium levels to 60% levels. Iran will not give up its civilian use of atomic energy.
Iran's "breakout time" - the time it would take to produce enough highly enriched uranium for multiple nuclear weapons - is very short, potentially days or weeks, according to some analysts.
bass4funk
Thank God for that.
The deal didn’t permanently prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or even limit key restrictions on uranium enrichment and centrifuge use were set to expire after 10–15 years, not to mention giving them over $100 billion in assets unfrozen and had sanctions lifted, and in 2025 and beyond, Iran would legally be allowed to ramp up enrichment again and here we are.
No one said they should.
Either way, they can’t have a nuclear weapon, they just can’t
lincolnman
With the level of incompetence and stupidity in Trump 2.0, they'll probably conclude a deal that GIVES Iran a nuclear weapon...
bass4funk
No, they won’t, and if they do, that’s it for them.
stormcrow
There was already a pretty good deal until Trump destroyed it.
Can you really do better? That’s highly doubtful.
HopeSpringsEternal
More great news, no need for wars, Diplomacy the way to go, DJT wants all countries to be prosperous, including Iran, but just not while pursuing dangerous WMDs, as world needs WMD reductions not increases!
HopeSpringsEternal
Always better to solve problems via talks, whether with Iran or anyone else. DJT picks up the phone and acts.
Nice to have DJT's pro-active leadership for a change, as entire world has had enough of deadly costly forever wars fueling inflation (currency purchasing power destruction) while risking WWIII escalation
Fos
Let’s not forget that Mossadegh, Iran's prime minister, was overthrown in a 1953 CIA-backed coup known as Operation Ajax. His government had nationalized Iran's oil industry, angering both the British and the U.S. After his removal, the Shah was restored to power, marking the beginning of an authoritarian regime until the 1979 Revolution.
To put it with the Political Analyst and Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs: ‘The United States are the most lawless and dangerous country in the world by far’
wallace
Trump's dismissal of the nuclear deal sped up the Iranian enrichment of uranium from 6% to 60%. It is on the doorstep of a nuclear weapon.
bass4funk
Again, that failed Obama deal would have never permanently stopped them, for the life of me, libs just don’t care about facts or they just like regurgitating failed loose liberal logic. The deal even didn’t have teeth, for example, while the deal allowed for IAEA inspections, critics argued the “anytime, anywhere” inspections promise was misleading to say the least, Iran could even delay inspections at military sites for up to 24 days—that would give them enough time, to hide illegal activity.
wallace
Obama's nuclear deal with Iran was only for 12 years.
For 13 years, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges.
Now Iran is on the doorstep of having the atomic bomb.
lincolnman
Offers his incorrect opinion as "fact" - ignores the elephant FACT in room...
As stated above, when the deal was in place Iran only had 6% enriched uranium....
After Trump reneged on the deal and during his administration Iran increased their enriched uranium to 60%...
Bottomline - Trump allowed Iran to INCREASE their ability to produce weapons grade uranium and closer to getting a bomb...
That ain't "winning", that's LOSING...unless you're the Mullahs...
bass4funk
Again, it would have done nothing to contain the regime.
That is what they said, take it with a grain of salt.
Access Delays Allowed by the Deal:
-Under the JCPOA, Iran had to allow inspections within 24 days if the IAEA requested access to a suspicious undeclared site. Critics argued this was too much time and could allow Iran to sanitize or hide evidence of nuclear work.
-Iran refused IAEA access to military sites, claiming they were off-limits unless there was “credible evidence.”
-After the U.S. left the deal under President Trump in May 2018, Iran gradually restricted IAEA access and began breaching nuclear limits.
3 occasions and let’s not forget Obama lifted sanctions, so what were the Iranians worried about?
Well, that’s on Obama and them, if they try, that’s the end of the regime, guaranteed.
bass4funk
It wouldn’t have stopped them, sanctions should have never been lifted for one, so that didn’t help, at all.
No, the deal should’ve been made by Congress and not by Obama, sneaking off in the night and try to secretly do a deal, but Obama knew that Congress wouldn’t approve of it, because they would have found out that his deal had full of holes in it and it wouldn’t held up.
Well, if they get a bomb, then they’re gonna have to deal with Israel, and Israel is not the United States, and they don’t give two figs about that regime, so if the Mullahs want to hasten their demise, then they should go for it.
GuruMick
Iran comes in and out of the spotlight as "bogey man de jeur " over the past decade.
Always a good standby.
Dont forget to mistrust everything they say and to use the word "regime " a lot.
wallace
The Iranian nuclear deal was made by several European countries, the US, and the UN.
RichardPearce
The 'Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program' is, like the 'Vaccines Cause Autism', immune to rational debunking amongst a certain type of person, and a tragic farce to the informed, who would laugh if everyone's safety wasn't at risk because of the people for whom facts are lies, and lies facts.
lincolnman
Who says?
Who says?
Bottomline - 6% enriched uranium before Trump, 60% after Trump....
LOSING....
wallace
It was Trump who brought Iran 10 years nearer to having an atomic weapon.
bass4funk
Congress
Members of Congress and Pentagon officials
Obama shouldn’t have been sneaking’ around behind Congress
bass4funk
No, it was Obama, it doesn’t matter what lips say, or think, if Obama deal was that good, he could’ve went through Congress, and all the members could have seen what it was what was in it, and worked on the perfect deal which had biting force attached to it, but this didn’t, most people are not going to fall and listen to the lib media, it’s irrelevant, what’s irrelevant is how so many congressmen were concerned and opposed to the bill on both sides, Trump just flat out, said no, they can’t have a bomb, if they do, that will be the end of that nation, because the US won’t stand for it, and Israel, without a shadow of doubt will not stand for it, so even if the US will not take action, Israel will, so either way the Mullah’s are playing with death.
wallace
It was Trump who cancelled the nuclear deal, not Obama, and in doing so, enabled Iran to increase Uranium to 60%. That's on Trump, not Obama, no matter how hard you republicans try history revisionism.
With the Obama deal, the enrichment would still be 6%.
bass4funk
It was Obama who made it without Congressional approval. Start at the beginning how and why it got canceled. Look at the cause before you complain about the reason
Again, look at the cause. No one told Obama to go behind Congress’s back and if he were that confident, he would have seeked their approval
It would never have contained them under that deal
wallace
bass4funk
It was Trump who cancelled the nuclear deal, not Obama,
The US was just one actor in the agreement. Trump's cancellation of the agreement increased uranium enrichment.
My comment is not a complaint.
lincolnman
ROFL...
ROFLX2....who appointed you to speak for Congress?
Bottomline - 6% enriched uranium before Trump, 60% after Trump....
MAGA LOSING....
wallace
Trump was unable to replace the cancelled nuclear agreement with one of his own or to stop Iran from enriching its Uranium. What did Trump achieve or win?
RichardPearce
A few notes. American nuclear weapons experts were behind the designation of LOW ENRICHED uranium for anything up to 20% enrichment, MEDIUM ENRICHED uranium for anything between 20% and 60% enrichment, HIGH ENRICHED uranium for anything between 60% and 90% enrichment, and WEAPONS GRADE only for anything over 90%.
The reason for these ranges, and these names for these ranges, were, of course, classified, but in their papers, they left hints that it was because the techniques used to enrich natural uranium hit a natural limit in the 20% range where repeated trips through the process didn't yield higher enrichment levels of useful material, that the different process that worked to get 20% enriched material up to 60% hit a natural limit in the 60% range, and the third process that could get 60% enriched uranium up to 90% hit a natural limit below the point where one could use the material to make a nuclear bomb.
So why did 20% somehow become 'highly enriched, almost weapons grade' material?
Not because ANY nuclear weapons scientists found those American ones to have been mistaken.
When words that have a pretty clear meaning get used inappropriately, there tends to be politics, prejudice, and propaganda involved.
PS 60% is not useful in making weapons, but it is useful in making nuclear powered naval ships.
bass4funk
It wouldn’t have mattered, then the deal was wrong and not binding to begin with
Neither was mine
No, Iran should they get a bomb. I still remember what that guy McCain once said
bass4funk
Well, the people who need to need to worry the most should be The Mullah’s
lincolnman
Uh-huh....Bottomline - 6% enriched uranium before Trump, 60% after Trump....
Why? They're much closer to getting their bomb under Trump than they were under Obama...Trump gave them a gift - just like he has to Putin and Xi - other members of the Axis if Evil...
Because he admires them...