Iran, US end high-level talks in Oman, agree to resume 'next week', Tehran says

• Talks aim to address Tehran's nuclear programme amid heightened Middle East tensions
• Iran says talks are indirect, mediated by Omani foreign ministerIran sceptical about prospects for a deal, wary of Trump's military threats
• Iran's uranium enrichment drive has advanced despite US sanctions
• Tehran's regional influence has waned since start of Israel-Hamas war in 2023

Iran and the U.S. held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, the Iranian side said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear programme with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on his Telegram channel that his delegation had a brief encounter with its U.S. counterpart, headed by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after they exited the indirect talks mediated by Oman.

"After the end of more than 2-1/2 hours of indirect talks, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks," Araqchi said.

He said the talks - a first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his first term in 2017-21 - took place in a "productive and positive atmosphere".

"Both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week," Araqchi wrote, without elaborating about the venue and date.

There was no immediate U.S. comment on the talks.

Underlining the profound rift between the U.S. and Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier said on X that each delegation had its separate room and would exchange messages via Oman's foreign minister.

"The current focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran's nuclear programme," an Omani source told Reuters. Baghaei denied this account but did not specify what was false.

Oman has long been an intermediary between Western powers and Iran, having brokered the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by the Islamic Republic.

Tehran approached the talks warily, sceptical they could yield a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its accelerating uranium enrichment programme - regarded by the West as a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.

While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.

Saturday's exchanges appeared indirect, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded.