US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Iranian officials in Oman this weekend for the latest talks aimed at striking a nuclear accord between Washington and Tehran, the State Department said on Thursday.
It will be the third round of negotiations and will see technical teams meet to discuss Iran's nuclear programme. The West says this is aimed at building nuclear weapons, something Tehran denies.
State Department director of policy planning Michael Anton will head the technical delegation for the US, spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
“The next round of talks will take place in Oman on Saturday, and will be the first meeting of technical teams,” Ms Bruce told reporters. “Special envoy Witkoff also will be present.”
Ms Bruce added that nuclear watchdog the International Atomic Energy Agency is also planning on sending a team to Iran “this week”.
Mr Witkoff most recently met Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last weekend in Rome, where they reported progress and called for talks among technical teams.
Mr Anton, a conservative academic who served on the National Security Council during President Donald Trump's first administration, is getting involved in talks as time quickly ticks down towards a deadline the US President imposed.
He last month wrote to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, giving Tehran two months to make a deal. Since then, Mr Trump has at times threatened to bomb Iran, while also offering the promise of a better future if it drops its nuclear programme.
Mr Trump in 2018 removed the US from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by major world powers during the administration of his predecessor Barack Obama, and placed Iran under a tough “maximum pressure” campaign, including stiff sanctions.
For now at least, the President is taking a more diplomatic approach in his second term and has reportedly worked to dissuade Israel from bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Mr Araghchi on Thursday said he was prepared to visit Germany, France and Britain, adding he was open to discussing “not only on the nuclear issue, but in each and every other area of mutual interest and concern”.
After Mr Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran began enriching uranium up to 60 per cent − much more than the 3.67 per cent cap set by the accord.
An enrichment level of 90 per cent is generally needed to make a nuclear bomb. A key sticking point in talks is how much – if any – enrichment the US will allow Tehran to continue. Iran insists its enrichment is for its civilian nuclear programme.
“Not acceptable is having a nuclear weapon. That is the one bright line that has been feeding all of the activity,” Ms Bruce said.
