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Iran and the United States wrapped up nuclear talks in Oman on Sunday with no apparent breakthrough in a public standoff over enrichment, but with both sides confirming plans for future negotiations.This was the fourth round of talks that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.Both sides had reported progress in the previous three rounds, and on Sunday Iran said the meeting was “difficult but useful” while a senior US official said Washington was “encouraged”.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was “encouraged by today’s outcome and look forward to our next meeting, which will happen in the near future”, without specifying when.In a post on X, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the “next round will be coordinated and announced by Oman”, which in turn said “the talks will take place once both parties… consult their leaderships”.According to the US official, the talks Sunday were “both direct and indirect, and lasted over three hours”.”Agreement was reached to move forward” and “continue working through technical elements”, the official added.Baqaei had earlier said negotiators would push for relief from US sanctions.Iran entered the talks saying that its right to maintain uranium enrichment was “non-negotiable”, while Washington’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff has called it a “red line”.Following the talks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led Tehran’s delegation, reiterated Iran’s stance on enrichment, saying it “must continue and there is no room for compromise on it”.He noted the latest meeting was “more serious” than previous rounds, telling Iranian state TV that Tehran may be open to limit the rate of enrichment “to help build trust”.- ‘Useful ideas’ -The talks come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, with US President Trump heading to the Gulf next week, and Araghchi just back from Saudi Arabia and Qatar — two stops on Trump’s first major foreign tour.Iran’s top diplomat is set to visit Monday the United Arab Emirates — another planned stop on Trump’s tour — for talks with senior officials, the foreign ministry said.Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the talks on Sunday “included useful and original ideas reflecting a shared wish to reach an honourable agreement”.Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent purity — far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal with Washington and other world powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled”.”That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told US right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.On Sunday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said calls to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear facilities were “unacceptable”.”Iran will not give up its peaceful nuclear rights under any circumstances and will not back down from its rights in the face of pressure,” he said.- ‘World’s most dangerous weapon’ -Iran adhered to the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers for a year after Washington’s withdrawal, before beginning to roll back its compliance.Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran’s nuclear programme, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and the pace of its enrichment activities.European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.Araghchi, in an article published on Sunday by French weekly Le Point, warned against a “strategy of confrontation”.Israel, which opposes the negotiations its close ally the United States has conducted with regional foe Iran, said Tehran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.”Iran is the most dangerous state in the world” and “must not be allowed to obtain the world’s most dangerous weapon,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.Israel is the Middle East’s only — if undeclared — nuclear-armed state.

Iran and the United States kicked off the fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman Sunday amid a standoff over uranium enrichment, with Tehran calling it “non-negotiable”, while Washington has described it as a “red line”. The negotiations follow earlier rounds that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew in 2018 from a landmark nuclear deal, during President Donald Trump’s first term.”Enrichment capability is one of the honours and achievements of the Iranian nation,” said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a video before departing to Muscat, adding that the issue was “non-negotiable”.”We had more consultations in Tehran this morning and in this round we hope to reach a decisive point,” he added.Iran’s ISNA news agency later confirmed that “indirect” talks between the two sides had begun.  The latest round of negotiations come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region, with Trump heading to the Gulf for his first major foreign tour next week, after Araghchi was in Saudi Arabia and Qatar this weekend.Both sides have reported progress after previous rounds. But there have been some delays and disagreements over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, with a US envoy calling it a “red line”.Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that negotiators would push for relief from US sanctions during the meeting.- ‘Red line’ -Yousuf Al Bulushi, chairman of the Muscat Policy Council think tank, said that the two sides “haven’t reached a breakthrough yet and this will take quite some time but I’m optimistic”.The fourth round was initially set to take place on May 3 but had been rescheduled, with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons”.Western countries, including the US, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent purity — far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal with Washington and other world powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington’s delegation, said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled”.”That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told US right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.Witkoff said that if the talks “are not productive… they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route”.Trump has said he wanted “total verification” that Iran’s contested nuclear work is shut down, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that Tehran give up all uranium enrichment.Araghchi, Tehran’s chief negotiator, has repeatedly defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium.Balushi meanwhile warned that both sides had lost precious time during past negotiations to clarify “whether what was said was meant or not”, instead of resolving differences.- ‘Experts’ at the table -Iran adhered to the 2015 agreement for a year after Washington’s withdrawal before beginning to roll back its compliance.Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran’s nuclear programme, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and the pace of its enrichment activities.European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the Iran-US talks, has called for Tehran’s nuclear facilities to be dismantled and for its ballistic missile programme to be stopped as part of any credible deal.Tehran has insisted that the talks be solely focused on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions, ruling out negotiations on military capabilities.Foreign ministry spokesman Baqaei said that Iran’s delegation “consists of the experts and specialists needed at this stage of the talks, serving the highest interests of our country”.

Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit next week, his son Eric was promoting his crypto firm in Dubai, while Don Jr prepared to talk about “Monetising MAGA” in Doha.Last month, the Trump Organization struck its first luxury real estate deal in Qatar, and released details of a billion-dollar skyscraper in Dubai whose apartments can be bought in cryptocurrency.In a monarchical region awash with petrodollars, the list of Trump-related ventures is long and growing. However, the presidential entourage is not the only party cashing in, analysts say.”Gulf governments likely see the presence of the Trump brand in their countries as a way to generate goodwill with the new administration,” said Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.If the president chose, he could hopscotch the region from one Trump venture to another when he visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week on the first foreign tour of his second term.Asked whether Trump would make visits or meetings linked to his own business interests or that of his family, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “ridiculous” to “even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit” and that he had “lost money for being president”.But from Dubai’s Trump International golf course, to a high-rise apartment block in Jeddah and a $4-billion golf and real estate project on Omani state-owned land, business links are not hard to find in the desert autocracies.At the Dubai crypto conference in April, Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff — the son of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve — announced that Emirati fund MGX would use USD1, a cryptocurrency developed by their firm, to invest $2 billion in Binance, a crypto exchange.- Political influence -The original title of Donald Trump Junior’s talk at this month’s Qatar Economic Forum, “Monetising MAGA: investing in Trump’s America” was later changed to the more neutral “Investing in America”, cached versions show.Among such investments is the $2 billion that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund reportedly ploughed into the private equity fund of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former advisor.The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Lunate have also invested $1.5 billion into the fund, according to Bloomberg.The Trump Organization has been run by the president’s two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, since his 2016 election win. While he no longer holds an executive title, Trump has retained his stake in the family business via a trust.For the Gulf states, which are trying to diversify their fossil fuel-reliant economies by attracting tourism and investment, Trump-branded, luxury-focused developments are a good fit.However, that is not the only benefit, as they spy an easy route to access and influence at the heart of the world’s most powerful country, experts say.According to Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS think tank, signing deals with Trump beats the well-worn approach of buying US weaponry.”For decades, the Gulf states’ colossal weapons purchases have lined the pockets of US defence companies whose PACs (political action committees) are among the largest donors to US election campaigns,” he said.”Catering to the Trump family’s commercial interests is perhaps seen as a shorter and more effective route toward the same objective: political influence,” he said.- ‘More than commercial plays’ -“In return, the Gulf states want US arms, assurances and advanced technology,” notably artificial intelligence, Alhasan said.One major interest for the UAE, which aims to be a leader in artificial intelligence, is securing access to advanced US technologies including AI chips under restricted export.The USD1 transaction by state-owned AI fund MGX, chaired by the president’s brother Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, came after he visited Washington in March and reportedly lobbied for access to the chips.Gulf dealings with the Trump Organization pale in comparison with government pledges, including the Saudi promise of $600 billion for US trade and investments.The White House has said the UAE has committed to a 10-year, $1.4-trillion dollar investment framework, a figure not confirmed or denied by Abu Dhabi.Riyadh was Trump’s first official visit in his inaugural term. Ahead of this trip, the United States approved a $3.5-billion sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia.”From the Gulf side, these investments are far more than just commercial plays -– they are strategic transactional levers,” said Middle East analyst Andreas Krieg.