WANA (Apr 19) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described the recent round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States as “moving forward,” announcing that technical meetings at the expert level will begin on Wednesday, followed by another round of negotiations on Saturday.

 

Speaking on Saturday after the conclusion of the second round of indirect Iran-U.S. talks in Rome, Araghchi provided an update on the status of the negotiations.

 

“We had about four hours of meetings today. It was a good session, and the negotiations are moving forward. This time, we managed to reach a better understanding of a number of principles and objectives. Ultimately, it was agreed that the talks would continue and move into the next phase, beginning with technical expert-level sessions,” Araghchi said.

 

According to the Iranian foreign minister, these technical discussions will commence this Wednesday in Oman. “It is natural for experts to have more time to go into the details and to design a framework for an agreement,” he said. “Then on Saturday, we will meet again in Oman to review the results of the experts’ work and see how close we are to the principles of an agreement,” he added.

 

When asked whether he considered the negotiations constructive, Araghchi said: “As I said, the negotiations were held in a constructive atmosphere and I can say that they are moving forward and we are moving forward.”

 

Addressing media speculation surrounding the talks, Araghchi dismissed the rumors and cautioned against reading too much into unofficial reports. “I do not confirm any of these speculations (rumors about negotiations), and what goes on behind the negotiating table naturally belongs to the negotiating table, and when the negotiations reach a conclusion, then the results will show themselves,” Araghchi said.

 

He further urged the public and media to allow the process to proceed rationally and without unnecessary excitement. “What matters is what happens at the negotiating table,” Araghchi said. “People and the media should not pay too much attention to speculation. Let this process continue in a reasonable manner so we can see when it may reach a conclusion.”

 

Further, Araghchi, regarding the reports claiming that the American side had raised non-nuclear issues during the negotiations, stated: “The Americans have so far not raised any issues unrelated to the nuclear topic. We have stated that our negotiations are related to nuclear matters, and we do not accept any other topics.”

 

He emphasized that conducting negotiations is a normal responsibility of the foreign ministry and should not cause anxiety or agitation within society. “We are carrying out this task with calm, care, and composure,” Araghchi stated.

 

Echoing recent remarks made by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Araghchi highlighted the importance of balance in assessing the talks: “There is no reason for too much optimism, we cannot say that we are really optimistic. We must be very cautious, but there is no reason for much pessimism either. We must walk a middle path and a completely reasonable path with peace.”

 

In conclusion, Araghchi expressed hope for progress in the coming days: “I hope that next week, after the technical meetings, we will be in a better position to judge the possibility of reaching an agreement. We are still acting cautiously.”

 

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Baghaei also wrote on X (formerly Twitter), ” There were useful indirect talks today between Iran and the United States conducted by Oman’s Foreign Minister in a constructive atmosphere. The two sides agreed to continue the indirect talks in a few days at a technical level to be followed by another round at their own level on coming Saturday.”