Muscat: The third round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States began this morning in the Omani capital, Muscat. The Iranian delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, while the US side is led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the US State Department stated that Michael Anton, the department’s Director of Policy Planning, is leading the technical negotiations, which are taking place in parallel. Following the second round of negotiations in Rome last weekend, the two sides agreed to continue the talks.

The primary focus of the talks is expected to be the issue of uranium enrichment in Iran. Under the landmark nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015, Iran was allowed a maximum enrichment level of 3.67% and a stockpile of up to 300 kilograms of uranium. After US President Donald Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the agreement in 2018, Tehran abandoned those commitments, increased enrichment to 60%, and now has a uranium stockpile exceeding 8,000 kilograms.