US, Iran Resume Nuclear Talks in Muscat After 2018 Deal Collapse

The US withdrew from a former nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018 during Trump's first term, and sanctioned Iran economically.

The US and Iran have attempted to negotiate a new agreement in Muscat over Iran's controversial nuclear programme, media reported. The White House called the negotiations "positive and constructive", while Iran stated the US desires a nuclear accord "as soon as possible.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a separate statement that the two sides swapped positions on Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of a removal of sanctions on Iran — the two deal-breaker issues in the negotiations.

While Araghchi would not go into details about the meeting, he mentioned that he had a few minutes of talks with the leader of the American delegation, Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy.

The US had withdrawn from a past nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in 2018 in Trump's first term, and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Why Is Iran's Nuclear Programme Banned?

Even though Iran has claimed that its nuclear programme is not for civilian use, the international nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not believe so.

There were suspicions regarding Iran's hidden nuclear facilities in 2002. This violated an agreement known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which Iran and other nations had signed.

Iran and six global powers – the US, China, France, Russia, Germany and the UK – agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 after years of talks.

But when Donald Trump came into office in 2018, he pulled the US out of the deal. He called it a "bad deal" because it was temporary and didn't tackle Iran's ballistic missile programme, among other issues. Trump reinstated US sanctions under a "maximum pressure" policy to try to get Iran to the negotiating table and agree a new deal.