A U.S. diplomatic delegation headed by Steve Witkoff and an Iranian delegation led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met and held indirect talks in Muscat, Oman today. It was the first time in several years that the two countries had held discussions at the same venue. The Associated Press reported the talks began at 3:30 p.m. Gulf Standard Time (GMT+4:00), and extended for two hours and twenty minutes.
“Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, described the talks as ‘indirect,’ with the “delegations seated in separate rooms and exchanging messages via Oman’s Foreign Minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, reported BBC on April 12.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi wrote on social media following the talks that he and Witkoff “talked for a few minutes” along with Albusaidi when leaving the talks.
The talks were geared toward reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. lifting of sanctions against Iran, and related matters. Oman’s Foreign Minister Albusaidi wrote on X that “I am proud to announce that today in Muscat we hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and mediated to begin a process of dialogue and negotiations with the shared aim of concluding a fair and binding agreement.” He went on, “I would like to thank my two colleagues for this engagement which took place in a friendly atmosphere conducive to bridging viewpoints and ultimately achieving regional and global peace, security and stability.” An unnamed Omani source told Reuters that the talks would also seek to secure prisoner exchanges.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said that both sides agreed to resume the talks next week.
As of this writing, there is no official U.S. readout on the meeting.
