US envoy to meet Iranians for third time

The United States said Thursday that President Donald Trump's confidant Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian officials for the third straight week as the adversaries seek a nuclear deal.

Witkoff, a businessman friend of Trump who has become his globe-trotting negotiator, last met Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday in Rome, where they reported progress and called for talks among technical teams.

The State Department announced that Witkoff would himself attend the technical talks to take place Saturday in Oman -- where he held his first meeting with Araghchi on April 12.

"The next round of talks will take place in Oman on Saturday, and will be the first meeting of technical teams," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.

"Special Envoy Witkoff also will be present," she said.

She said that Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department head of policy planning, will lead technical work on the US side.

Anton is a conservative scholar known more for his strong criticism of immigration into the United States than technical expertise on nuclear issues.

Witkoff, who had no diplomatic experience before being tapped by Trump, quickly immersed himself in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, which has since collapsed with Israel's renewed offensive against Hezbollah.

He is also seeking to end the Ukraine war and is expected to meet Friday in Russia with President Vladimir Putin.

- Iran seeks Europe talks -

Trump in 2018 tore up an earlier nuclear deal negotiated under president Barack Obama and reimposed sweeping sanctions.

But since returning to office he has vowed to seek diplomacy and has discouraged Israel from carrying out a military strike on the nation it considers its arch-enemy.

Araghchi said Thursday he was open to traveling to Germany, France and Britain -- US allies which were part of the 2015 nuclear deal and unsuccessfully sought to stop Trump from pulling out in his first term.

Araghchi, in a post on X, said he was open to discussing "not only on the nuclear issue, but in each and every other area of mutual interest and concern."

In an allusion to European powers' growing hawkishness on Iran since the first Trump term and to Israeli pressure, Araghchi said that Britain, France and Germany "have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path."

Araghchi on Wednesday held talks in China and last week visited Russia.

French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told AFP that Paris would wait and see "if this announcement by the Iranian minister is followed by effects."

He added that France "will very willingly continue to dialogue with the Iranians" on the nuclear subject.

Germany and Britain did not immediately comment.

- Snapback -

Following Washington's withdrawal from the deal, Tehran stuck to the agreement for a year before scaling back its compliance, increasing its enrichment of uranium to up to 60 percent -- far above the 3.67 percent ceiling set by the deal, but short of the 90 percent required for a bomb.

In December, the three European countries warned of the possibility of triggering the so-called "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 accord if Iran continued to develop its nuclear program.

If triggered, the mechanism would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance. The option to activate it expires in October.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged European countries to decide whether to use the option.

Iran has previously warned it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the mechanism were triggered.

Iran's FM heads to Oman for nuclear talks with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to leave for Oman on Friday for nuclear talks with the United States, after both sides reported progress in the first two rounds.

Araghchi will be leading what foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei described as a diplomatic and technical-expert delegation for indirect discussions with the US side.

President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will represent the United States in the talks scheduled on Saturday.

The meeting follows two earlier rounds of Omani-mediated talks in Muscat and Rome starting on April 12.

The third round will include expert-level technical talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department's head of policy planning, lead technical talks on the US side.

Iran's Tasnim news agency meanwhile reported that deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead the technical talks on the Iranian side.

Baqaei said Friday that "progress in the negotiations requires the demonstration of goodwill, seriousness, and realism by the other side."

Araghchi said in an interview this week that Iran "will enter the negotiations seriously on Saturday, and if the other party also enters seriously, there is potential for progress."

Trump wrote a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in March, urging talks while warning of potential military action if diplomacy fails.