Iranians closely follow 3rd round of nuclear talks with US

Iranians are closely following the third round of indirect negotiations with the United States that began on Saturday in Muscat, the capital of Oman. An Iranian delegation led by Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived in Muscat on Friday afternoon. the U.S. team, led by Steve Witkoff, U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East, arrived Saturday morning.

The two sides will talk on the Iranian nuclear issue and the U.S. lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.

According to the Iranian media, expert-level technical talks between Iran and the U.S. will be held on Saturday morning. The talks will be conducted indirectly, with Oman passing information between the two sides. However, the possibility of a direct high-level dialog between Araghchi and Witkoff is not ruled out.

On April 12, the U.S. and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term.

The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.

All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.

According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether the United States will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program, although Iran has repeatedly stressed that its nuclear program is only for peaceful civilian purposes. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran's right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.

Araghchi posted on social media on Friday that the Iranian negotiating delegation is determined to protect its people's legitimate and lawful rights to peacefully use nuclear energy. He also noted that objectively and quickly ending the illegal and inhumane sanctions imposed by the United States against the Iranian people is Iran's top priority.

All sectors of Iran are paying close attention to this negotiation. Iranian medium Fararu pointed out in a report on Friday that the negotiation process may be long, complicated and unpredictable judging from previous negotiations. The report said that although the leaders of both countries are willing to reach an agreement, there are currently influential opponents in both Iran and the United States who oppose the U.S.-Iran agreement.

Iranians closely follow 3rd round of nuclear talks with US

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠China's natural gas production is projected to reach 300 billion cubic meters by 2030, according to a development report released in Beijing.

The report, covering the development of China's oil and gas industry during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), said proven geological reserves rose by 7 billion tons of oil and 7 trillion cubic meters of gas, up 43 percent and 40 percent respectively from the previous five-year period. Oil and gas production hit record highs.

"The oil output is likely to reach between 215 and 216 million tons this year. Natural gas has seen major growth during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), with annual domestic output rising by nearly 13 billion cubic meters. In the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), we expect annual increases of more than 10 billion cubic meters, reaching 300 billion cubic meters around 2030," said Wu Mouyuan, deputy director of the Economics and Technology Research Institute of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The report forecast that China's energy structure will feature less coal, stable oil and gas, and rising non-fossil fuels over the next decade.

By 2060, fossil fuels are expected to account for 23 percent of the energy mix, hydropower and nuclear 19 percent, wind 25 percent, and solar 30 percent, the report said.

"In the next five years, through the integrated development of fossil energy and renewables, we will achieve a heathy, stable, and resilient energy system. Clean energy will continue to grow rapidly. More than 90 percent of renewable energy will be consumed via electricity, so the electrification at end-use sectors is a key direction of transformation in the future," said Wu.

With the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and new high-energy industries, China's power demand will exceed 20 trillion kilowatt hours by 2060, double the 2025 level. Electrification at end-use sectors is expected to reach 62 percent, rising by nearly one percentage point annually, the report projected.

China to see gas output hitting 300 bcm by 2030: report