US, Iran say progress in 'positive' nuclear talks

US, Iran say progress in 'positive' nuclear talks
By Ahmad Parhizi with Ramin Khanizadeh in Tehran
Muscat, Oman (AFP) April 26, 2025

The United States and Iran reported progress in their latest round of nuclear talks on Saturday and agreed to meet again next week as they pursue a deal that could help ease soaring Middle East tensions.

A US official called the talks "positive and productive", and Iran's top diplomat said the two sides will study how to narrow their differences on a range of subjects before next week's fourth round.

The highest-level contact in years between the long-time foes is targeting a new deal that would stop Iran developing nuclear weapons -- an objective Tehran denies pursuing -- in return for relief from sanctions.

"There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal," the senior US official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the next talks would be in Europe.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Saturday's talks, which included technical-level teams for the first time, "serious and businesslike".

"There are differences both in the major issues and in the details," he told Iranian state TV.

"Until the next meeting, further studies are to be conducted in the capitals on how to reduce the differences."

Araghchi added: "I think our progress has been good so far. I am satisfied with the process of the negotiation and its speed. I think it is proceeding well and satisfactorily."

US President Donald Trump pulled out of an earlier, multilateral agreement during his first term. The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Iran with military strikes.

- 'Minute details' -

US special envoy Steve Witkoff again led the American delegation while Michael Anton, the State Department's head of policy planning, headed the US expert-level negotiators.

Deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi led Tehran's technical team, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.

The delegations were in separate rooms and communicated in writing via the hosts, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei and Araghchi said.

"The expert and technical talks... reached the stage of minute details about mutual demands and expectations," an Iranian state TV reporter said.

Iran's defence and missile capabilities were not discussed, Baqaei told state TV, while an Iranian negotiator said the talks were "uniquely about sanctions and nuclear questions", according to Tasnim.

Araghchi had earlier expressed "cautious optimism", saying this week: "If the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable".

The talks coincided with a major blast at Iran's Shahid Rajaee port that injured hundreds of people and killed at least four, state media reported.

The port's customs office said it probably resulted from a fire in a storage depot.

Before the talks, Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through.

But he added that he "would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped". The talks began in Muscat a fortnight ago and continued in Rome last Saturday.

- Trump's 'maximum pressure' -

They are the most senior engagement between the traditional enemies since 2018, when Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 accord that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Since returning to office, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Tehran.

In March, he wrote to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.

On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran's oil network -- a move Tehran described as "hostile" ahead of Saturday's talks.

On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.

Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.

Araghchi has previously called Iran's right to enrich uranium "non-negotiable".

Tehran last year revived engagement with Britain, France and Germany -- also signatories to the 2015 deal -- holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged the three European states to decide whether to trigger the "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.

The option to use the mechanism expires in October.

Iran has warned it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.

Fire blazes day after Iran port blast killed 28, injured 1,000
Tehran (AFP) April 27, 2025 - Fire blazed on Sunday, more than 24 hours after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port, killing at least 28 people and leaving more than 1,000 others injured, according to the Red Crescent.

The blast occurred Saturday at Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

With choking smoke and air pollution spreading throughout the area, all schools and offices in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan province around 23 kilometres (14 miles) east, were ordered closed on Sunday to allow authorities to focus on the emergency effort, state TV said.

The health ministry urged residents to avoid going outside "until further notice" and to use protective masks.

Russia's embassy said Moscow was sending "several aircraft carrying specialists" to help fight the blaze, "at the request of Iranian partners".

The New York Times quoted a person with ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters, as saying that what exploded was sodium perchlorate -- a major ingredient in solid fuel for missiles.

Defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik told state TV that "there has been no imported or exported cargo for military fuel or military use in the area."

The port's customs office said in a statement carried by state television that the explosion probably resulted from a fire that broke out at the hazardous and chemical materials storage depot.

A regional emergency official said several containers had exploded.

Red Crescent chief Pirhossein Koolivand, in a video shared on the government's official website, gave on Sunday an updated toll of 28 people killed and more than 1,000 injured.

- Area sealed off -

Some of the injured were transferred for treatment in the capital Tehran -- more than 1,000 kilometres north -- Koolivand said.

Thick black smoke was visible in live footage from the scene aired by state TV on Sunday.

"The fire is under control but still not out," a state TV correspondent reported from the scene on Sunday.

The explosion was felt and heard about 50 kilometres away, Fars news agency reported.

Speaking Sunday at the scene, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said "the situation has stabilised in the main areas" of the port. He told state TV that workers had resumed loading containers and customs clearance.

Images from Iran's Tasnim news agency on Sunday showed a helicopter flying through a sky blackened by smoke to drop water on the disaster scene.

Other Tasnim images showed firefighters working among toppled and blackened cargo containers, and carrying out the body of a victim.

The authorities have closed off the roads leading to the site of the explosion, and footage from the area has been limited to Iranian media outlets.

- Mourning -

Three Chinese nationals were "lightly injured" in the disaster, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing its Bandar Abbas consulate.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who on Sunday was heading to the port blast area according to state TV, earlier said he had "issued an order to investigate the situation and the causes".

The United Arab Emirates expressed "solidarity with Iran" over the explosion and Saudi Arabia sent condolences, as did Pakistan, India, Turkey and the United Nations as well as Russia.

Authorities declared three days of public mourning across Hormozgan province.

The explosion came as Iranian and US delegations met in Oman for high-level talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, with both sides reporting progress.

While Iranian authorities so far appear to be treating the blast as an accident, it also comes against the backdrop of years of shadow war with regional foe Israel.

According to the Washington Post, Israel in 2020 launched a cyberattack targeting the Shahid Rajaee Port.