Iran's foreign minister says he briefed Putin on US talks

Iran proposed a three-stage plan to the US delegation during talks in Oman on Saturday envisioning a cap on their uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions, three diplomatic sources in Tehran told Iran International.

The plan was presented by Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in writing to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during the three-hour talks.

Tehran proposed that in the first stage, it would temporarily reduce its uranium enrichment level to 3.67% in exchange for access to financial assets frozen by the United States and permission to export its oil, the diplomatic sources told Iran International.

In the second phase, the sources added, Iran would permanently end high-level enrichment and restore the United Nations nuclear watchdog's inspections if the United States lifts further sanctions on Iran and persuades Britain, Germany and France to refrain from triggering the so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Tehran.

In this phase, Iran would also commit to implementing the Additional Protocol, a supplementary agreement that allows the UN nuclear watchdog to carry out surprise inspections at sites not declared to the agency.

The third and final stage calls for the US congress to approve the nuclear agreement and for Washington to lift both primary and secondary sanctions, while Iran would transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpiles to a third country.

US envoy Witkoff welcomed the proposals presented by the Iranian side, the sources told Iran International, surprising the Iranian delegation in Muscat.

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Asked by a reporter in the White House on Thursday whether he had waved off an Israeli attack on Iran, US President Donald Trump said: "I wouldn't say waved off. I'm not in a rush to do it, because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death, and I'd like to see that. That's my first option."

"If there's a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran. And I think Iran is wanting to talk. I hope they're wanting to talk. It's going to be very good for them if they do," he added.

"I don't want to do anything that's going to hurt anybody. I really don't, but Iran can't have a nuclear weapon ... It's really simple. We're not looking to take their industry. We're not looking to take their land. All we're saying is, you can't have a nuclear weapon."

Trump went on to criticize an international nuclear deal inked by Barak Obama with Iran from which he withdrew in 2018: "It was a terrible deal. It would have expired, and that gave them a clear path to a nuclear weapon."

"It was way too short. You know, when countries are involved, you don't make short-term deals. These are countries with long lives, and I terminated that."

Oman’s foreign ministry has confirmed that the second round of talks between Iran and the United States will take place this Saturday in Rome, adding that the Italian capital was chosen for logistical reasons.

"The aim of the talks will be to make further progress towards reaching a just, binding and sustainable agreement," a ministry spokesman said in a statement on X.

"Oman is pleased to be facilitating and mediating this meeting in Rome, which has been chosen as the venue for logistical reasons, the statement added.

Oman also expressed gratitude to the Italian government for its assistance in preparing for the meeting.

US President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is publicly floating diplomatic proposals on Iran to gauge reactions, Jewish Insider reported citing a Trump administration official, as the administration continues to shape its strategy for preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“Witkoff faithfully represents the president to the extent that he, like the president, will float ideas publicly to see the reaction and adjust accordingly,” the official was quoted as saying.

The broader strategy to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon is still being shaped, the report said.

“While the president is firm on not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon, the policy of how to get there is still in flux,” the official was quoted as saying.

The United States sanctioned the International Bank of Yemen (IBY) on Thursday for providing financial support to the Iran-backed Houthis, in what the Treasury Department described as part of efforts to counter threats to commercial shipping.

“We are committed to disrupting Houthi financial networks and banking access as part of our whole-of-government approach to eliminating Iran’s threat network,” the department said in a statement.

The sanctions also target three senior IBY officials — Kamal Hussain Al Jebry, Ahmed Thabit Noman Al-Absi, and Abdulkader Ali Bazara.