Iran, US conclude 3rd round of nuclear talks, plan further meeting despite differences

Iran and the United States concluded the third round of indirect nuclear talks in Muscat, Oman on Saturday, with differences remaining over both major issues and finer details. However, a further high-level meeting is provisionally scheduled for May 3, according to Omani foreign minister.

The two delegations, headed by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, respectively, started the dialogue earlier Saturday, following an expert-level technical discussion between the two sides on the same day in Muscat.

The talks lasted about six hours, with Araghchi describing it as much more serious than previous rounds.

Araghchi said the two sides engaged in more detailed and technical discussions, and would carry out further research separately to help narrow their differences before the next round of talks.

Iran is satisfied with the process of the talks, said Araghchi, emphasizing that Iran’s optimism about the success of the talks remains extremely cautious, and general consensus must be reached before discussing the details.

In a statement issued on the social media platform X, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi said that "core principles, objectives, and technical concerns" were discussed thoroughly in the Omani-mediated talks, adding that negotiations are set to continue next week and that a further high-level meeting is provisionally scheduled for May 3.

Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States -- in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 during Trump's first term and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.

Oman has been facilitating the dialogue between the two sides to help narrow differences and promote regional stability. With Omani mediation, the first round of Iran-U.S. talks was held in Muscat on April 12 and the second round a week later in Rome.

Iran, US conclude 3rd round of nuclear talks, plan further meeting despite differences

Russia said on Wednesday that its armed forces gained control over a settlement in Zaporizhzhia region in southeastern Ukraine, while Ukraine said on the same day that its armed forces attacked multiple Russian strategic infrastructure.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in its latest report that Russian forces brought under controlled the Zarechnoye Settlement in Zaporizhzhia Region and attacked Ukrainian troops in the direction of Sumy and Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

The ministry also said that over the past day, Russian forces struck Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises, energy facilities, transportation infrastructure, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries across 147 locations.

Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a war report released on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces attacked multiple Russian targets earlier on the day.

The report said that a synthetic rubber plant, which was located in the Russian city of Yefremov in the Tula Region and was used to produce components for plastic explosives and key raw materials for solid rocket fuel, was attacked.

It also reported that the Ukrainian forces struck a Russian base for unmanned vessel storage and maintenance in Crimea.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on the same day that Russian forces thwarted a planned sabotage and terrorist attack targeting critical infrastructure in the Tyumen Region.

According to the FSB, the suspect acted on orders from Ukrainian special services and planned an attack on a dispatch station of a major oil pipeline operated by the Russian company Transneft.

The individual attempted to extract components he had bought from a cache to assemble an improvised explosive device earlier on the day. When security personnel tried to capture him, he offered armed resistance and was eventually neutralized, the FSB said.

Also on Wednesday, Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, said that a thermal power plant on the outskirts of the city was attacked by Russian forces on the day, resulting in one death and 13 injuries so far.

Additionally, the attack has directly impacted local heating supply and public transportation operations.

Russia claims controlling new settlement, Ukraine reports striking Russian strategic infrastructure