TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign ministry announced on Monday that the next round of indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington over a revival of nuclear deals will take place on Sunday, June 15th in Muscat, Oman’s capital.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei ASL confirmed that preparations for future diplomatic involvement are ongoing following a series of consultations. Negotiations are mediated by Oman, and Oman has played a long-standing role in fostering dialogue between the two sides.
Since April, Iran and the US have held five rounds of indirect talks, with three sessions held in Muscat and others held in Rome. The goal of the discussion is to arrive at a framework agreement to replace the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA), which collapsed after the US withdrew from the agreement under the Trump administration in 2018.
The two countries show a careful willingness to engage diplomatically, but this process is undermined by serious obstacles. Iranian officials have repeatedly criticised Washington’s changing position during consultations, noting that they are contradictory and undermining progress.
A major point of attachment in negotiations remains in the US’s demand that the US cease all uranium enrichment activities under the new contract. Iran firmly rejected this situation, saying that the right to enrich uranium is being enriched under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Tehran argues that the nuclear program remains peaceful and that its activities are within the scope of international law.
Tensions escalated further following the release of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s latest quarterly report. United Nations nuclear observers argued that Iran has significantly expanded its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
In a joint statement issued last week, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) rejected the IAEA report as “politically motivated and imbalanced.” They argued that the document was drafted under pressure from European countries and did not reflect the technical reality of the earth.
In these developments, Majid Tak Ravanchi, Deputy Minister for Iran’s political affairs, provided details on Tehran’s position. In a TV interview on Monday, he said future responses to Iran’s latest US proposal are “logical and well thought out,” adding that it will serve as a viable basis for ongoing negotiations.
“Our response is prepared and we haven’t yet been confirmed, but there have been considerable progress,” Takht-Ravanchi said. “We believe that the proposal we propose is reasonable and we hope it will be completed within the next few days and presented to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman.
He emphasized that Iran’s proposal is far from a simple statement. “This is not a one-liner or short paragraph that can be put aside. It contains elements that show our severity and reflect our structured, principled approach. A reliable proposal should have internal consistency (logical beginnings and ends) with contradictions between the parts.”
Takht-Ravanchi noted that the documents drafted by Iran are not intended as comprehensive agreements or long memoirs, but as a framework that can pave the way for more detailed negotiations.
“We are not going to file a long, complicated agreement that takes months to prepare,” he said. “What we are proposing is a structured framework for reaching consensus. If both parties agree on a basic outline, more detailed negotiations can begin. We believe that such a framework could generate consensus that meets both parties.”
The Deputy Minister acknowledged that negotiations are rarely easy. “In international negotiations, the first text is just the starting point. Other sections may require more time and discussion, but some can reach a quick consensus.”
Still, he reiterated that Iran is committed to diplomacy. “We believe that if there is a real political will on the other side, there is room for advance.”