Iran, US plan talks next week after 'constructive' meeting

Golnar Motevalli and Arsalan Shahla, Bloomberg News on Apr 12, 2025

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Iran said the first formal talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over its nuclear program were “constructive” with both sides agreeing to meet again next week.

The two sides discussed Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions “in a constructive atmosphere and with mutual respect,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement after indirect talks that lasted for more than two hours. The statement added that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the U.S. delegation’s lead negotiator, Steve Witkoff, briefly met and spoke after the talks concluded.

Officials from the two countries were holding their highest-level talks since 2022, aiming to resolve a yearslong standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has said repeatedly he wants a deal or will resort to military action, while Tehran has said it won’t respond to threats and would only agree to indirect talks.

In an interview with Iran’s state television after the discussions, Araghchi said the delegations will reconvene next Saturday. While he didn’t provide specifics, he stated the talks may take place at a different location, with Oman continuing to serve as the facilitator.

“As a first meeting, it was a constructive session, held in a calm and highly respectful environment; no inappropriate language was used,” Araghchi said. He added that both sides had demonstrated a commitment to pursuing a “desirable agreement from a position of equality.”

“Neither side wants fruitless, protracted, or time-wasting negotiations,” the minister said. “The American side also said their preference is for an agreement to be reached in the shortest time possible, but it won’t be easy.”

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, who mediated the talks between the delegations in separate rooms, described the discussions as taking place in “a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security, and stability.”

While oil traders have been keeping an eye on the negotiations, for now their primary focus remains the impact of U.S. tariffs and its threat to global demand, which sent crude prices to four-year lows earlier this week. Iranian production remains robust, with output near a six-year high of almost 3.4 million barrels per day, though there are signs of exports flows backing up as traders brace for tougher sanctions.

Trump abandoned the original 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in his first term and has been the driving force behind a strict sanctions regime that’s severely hobbled the Islamic Republic’s economy.

At the same time, Iran’s clerical establishment has been dealing with increasing levels of unrest and dissent in recent years and is broadly unpopular with much of the country’s urban middle class who’ve endured rampant inflation and a tanking currency for more than a decade.

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(With assistance from Rachel Lavin.)