Iran-US talks positive step toward regional stability - GCC chief

Saudi Arabia welcomes the talks held between Iran and the United States in Oman, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We hope that the results of the dialogue between Iran and America will lead to supporting security and stability," the statement said.

"We support the approach of dialogue as a way to end regional and international disputes."

It also welcomed Oman's mediation and hosting of talks between Tehran and Washington over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program.

“Trump wanted his State Secretary Marco Rubio to take part in the negotiations, but we insisted on Witkoff, and the US backed down," said Mahmoud Nabavian, deputy head of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee.

“In every aspect of the negotiations, whatever we said was accepted, and the American side gave ground," he told the Student News Network (SNN).

“Trump isn’t entirely crazy—he calculates. He’s brought in warships and aircraft to influence Iranian public opinion."

Tehran’s talk of welcoming US investment is likely a tactic to influence President Donald Trump psychologically rather than a genuine policy shift according to Sara Bazoobandi, an associate at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies.

"This rhetoric ties into the narrative the Islamic Republic has crafted based on a kind of psychological profile of Mr. Trump,” she told Iran International.

"They think that just as the US has used a carrot-and-stick approach to try to bring the Islamic Republic to the table, they too can stir Trump’s emotions for negotiation," she added.

US chief negotiator Steve Witkoff underscored to Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that "he had instructions from Trump to resolve our two nations' differences through dialogue and diplomacy, if that is possible," the White House said.

"These issues are very complicated, and Witkoff's direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome," the statement on Saturday added.

The White House confirmed that talks will resume next Saturday.

Iran approached negotiations with the United States out of weakness and desperation, Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies Center at Stanford University told Iran International.

"The negotiations indicate that the Islamic Republic is in absolute weakness, in complete desperation," Milani said.

He called Iran's insistence on indirect talks childish and “more foolish and damaging than direct negotiations,” arguing that Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, are fully aware of the Islamic Republic's vulnerability.

“They will negotiate on all issues,” Milani said, adding that Iran is at its “weakest point—reviled by the people, isolated in the region and trapped in a massive economic crisis.”