Iran, US To Resume Nuclear Talks Sunday

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Iran has agreed to hold a fourth round of nuclear talks with the US on Sunday in Oman, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Friday, adding that the negotiations were advancing.
US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, plans to attend the talks in Oman, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.
Western countries say Iran's nuclear programme, which Tehran accelerated after the US walkout from the now moribund 2015 accord, is geared toward producing weapons, whereas Iran insists it is purely for civilian purposes.
"The negotiations are moving forward, and naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and reviews are needed," Araqchi said in remarks carried by Iranian state media.
"The delegations require more time to examine the issues that are raised. But what is important is that we are on a forward-moving path and gradually entering into the details." Witkoff, in an interview with Breitbart News, said the Iranians had stated that they do not want a nuclear weapon and the US will "take them at their word" on this point.
"If that's how they feel, then their enrichment facilities have to be dismantled. They cannot have centrifuges. They have to downblend all of their fuel that they have there and send it to a faraway place - and they have to convert to a civil programme if they want to run a civil programme," he said.
The fourth round of indirect negotiations, initially scheduled for May 3 in Rome, was postponed, with mediator Oman citing "logistical reasons".
In a separate statement Friday, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said that after "co-ordination with both Iran and the US", the fourth round of negotiations was set to take place Sunday in Muscat.

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