‘Very good talks’: President Trump upbeat after US-Iran dialogue in Oman

US President Donald Trump on Friday said Washington had held “very good talks” on Iran, after the two sides held an indirect dialogue in Oman that could avert an escalation of tensions.

“We likewise had very good talks on Iran, Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,” Trump said to reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the weekend.

“We’re going to meet again early next week,” he added.

Asked how long he was willing to wait for a deal on Iran, Trump said, “Well, you have to get in position. We have plenty of time.”

Earlier, Iran’s top diplomat said that nuclear talks with the US mediated by Oman were off to a “good start” and set to continue, in remarks that could help allay concern that failure to reach a deal might nudge the Middle East closer to war.

But Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said after the talks in the Omani capital Muscat, which involved him, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, that “any dialogue requires refraining from threats and pressure. (Tehran) only discusses its nuclear issue … We do not discuss any other issue with the US.”

While both sides have indicated readiness to revive diplomacy over Tehran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West, Washington wanted to expand the talks to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for armed groups around the region and “treatment of their own people,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters Iran insisted on its “right to enrich uranium” during the negotiations with the US, adding that Tehran’s missile capabilities were not raised in the discussions.