The US and Iran resumed nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, in the highest level talks between the two old foes since 2018.
What each side wants: Faced with inflation at over 30% and the currency in freefall, Tehran is seeking sanctions relief in exchange for limiting uranium enrichment. The US wants a deal that will limit the Islamic republic’s (rapidly accelerating) progress towards a nuclear weapon and cuts back its regional power.
That the talks happened at all was something of a surprise. Iran’s supreme leader recently poo-pooed the idea of speaking with the US directly. US president Donald Trump, who pulled the US out of an Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran during his first term in 2018, had offered the talks but also threatened military action if they failed.
After the meeting, Iran's state-run broadcaster announced that US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "briefly spoke", while the White House described the two-hour talks as "very positive and constructive.” The next round of discussions is scheduled for April 19.
Getting somewhat less attention, Washington also held nuclear talks on the other side of the Persian Gulf. On Sunday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced the US and Saudi Arabia are on the "pathway" to an agreement that would advance Riyadh's nuclear energy ambitions with US help, provided the Kingdom forswears any ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
The deal would transform Saudi Arabia, which wants to wean itself off of oil as part of the larger economic development vision of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. But there’s a sticking point: Riyadh wants to enrich its own uranium – as its regional rival Iran does – rather than importing it from abroad.
The talks are a resumption of discussions begun under the administration of US President Joe Biden, when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for US nuclear power cooperation – a conversation that was sidelined by the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hamas War in 2023.
