MUSCAT: The United States and Iran held 鈥渃onstructive鈥� talks on Tehran鈥檚 nuclear program on Saturday and agreed to meet again as President Donald Trump threatens military action if they fail to reach a deal.
Oman鈥檚 foreign minister acted as an intermediary in the high-stakes talks in Muscat, Iran said. The Americans had called for the meetings to be face-to-face.
However, the negotiators also spoke directly for 鈥渁 few minutes,鈥� Iran鈥檚 foreign ministry said. It said the talks were held 鈥渋n a constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere.鈥�
Disagreement over the format indicated the scale of the task facing the long-term adversaries, who are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of an earlier agreement during his first term in 2018.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the talks took place in a 鈥渇riendly atmosphere,鈥� adding: 鈥淲e will continue to work together.鈥�
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a seasoned diplomat and key architect of the 2015 accord, led the Iranian delegation while Trump鈥檚 special envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate magnate, headed the US team.
鈥淥ur intention is to reach a fair and honorable agreement from an equal position,鈥� Araghchi said earlier in a video posted by Iranian state television.

Iran鈥檚 foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei earlier told the broadcaster that the negotiations were 鈥渏ust a beginning.鈥�
The two parties were in 鈥渟eparate halls鈥� and were 鈥渃onveying their views and positions to each other through the Omani foreign minister,鈥� he posted separately on X.
Iran, weakened by Israel鈥檚 pummelling of its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, is seeking relief from wide-ranging sanctions hobbling its economy.
Tehran has agreed to the meetings despite baulking at Trump鈥檚 鈥渕aximum pressure鈥� campaign of ramping up sanctions and repeated military threats.
Meanwhile the US, hand-in-glove with Iran鈥檚 arch-enemy Israel, wants to stop Tehran from ever getting close to developing a nuclear bomb.
There were no visible signs of the high-level meeting at a luxury hotel in Muscat, where there were no flags or unusual security measures and little traffic on the streets.
Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal earlier that the US position starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program 鈥� a view held by hard-liners around Trump that few expect Iran to accept.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 mean, by the way, that at the margin we鈥檙e not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries,鈥� Witkoff told the newspaper.
鈥淲here our red line will be, there can鈥檛 be weaponization of your nuclear capability,鈥� he added.
The talks were revealed in a surprise announcement by Trump during a White House appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Hours before they began, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: 鈥淚 want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can鈥檛 have a nuclear weapon.鈥�
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei鈥檚 adviser Ali Shamkhani said Iran was 鈥渟eeking a real and fair agreement.鈥�
Saturday鈥檚 contact between the two sides, which have not had diplomatic relations for decades, follows repeated threats of military action by both the US and Israel.
鈥淚f it requires military, we鈥檙e going to have military,鈥� Trump said on Wednesday when asked what would happen if the talks fail.
The multi-party 2015 deal that Trump abandoned aimed to make it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic bomb, while at the same time allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear program.
Iran, which insists its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes, stepped up its activities after Trump withdrew from the agreement.
The latest International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, nearing the weapons grade of 90 percent.
Karim Bitar, a Middle East Studies lecturer at Sciences Po university in Paris, said a deal could be a matter of the government鈥檚 very survival.
鈥淭he one and only priority is the survival of the regime, and ideally, to get some oxygen, some sanctions relief, to get their economy going again, because the regime has become quite unpopular,鈥� he told AFP.
Mohamed Al-Araimi, ex-head of the official Oman News Agency, said the highest-level talks since the last deal crumbled indicate 鈥渁 strong desire to reach a resolution.鈥�
But he added: 鈥淧ersonally, I don鈥檛 believe that today鈥檚 meetings in Muscat will resolve all of these files. These matters require technical teams.鈥�