Iran said it agreed with the US to continue indirect talks to de-escalate tensions and avert a military confrontation, with Tehran describing the first day as positive.
Negotiations, mediated by Oman in its capital Muscat, had a “good start,” Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state TV after the talks concluded for the day. He added that he thought the sides “can reach an agreed framework for future talks” if the process continues in the same vein.
Oil prices fell after the comments, with benchmark Brent dropping below $67 a barrel before erasing losses. Crude prices have soared around 12% this year, in large part due to concerns about a new war in the Middle East.
Iran said discussions were limited to nuclear issues, something the Islamic Republic has insisted on, while US officials say they should include Iran's missiles and Tehran's support for regional militias.
“The subject of our talks is strictly nuclear, and we are not discussing any other issues with the Americans,” Araghchi said in an interview with state-run IRIB.
US officials have yet to comment on the outcome of Friday's talks.
The negotiations involved Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi holding multiple separate meetings with the Iranian delegation led by Araghchi and the US team including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Iran's main priorities included “assessing the other side's goodwill and seriousness,” the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Araghchi presented a preliminary plan for “managing the current situation” and advancing negotiations, it added.
Some supertanker operators, nervous about the rising US-Iran tensions and potential risks to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, are speeding their vessels through the chokepoint, Bloomberg has reported.
Iran seized two small oil tankers in the Persian Gulf on Thursday that were suspected of smuggling fuel, state TV reported. Iranian authorities, who frequently conduct such anti-smuggling operations, found around 6,300 barrels-worth of illicit fuel aboard, the report said, without identifying the vessels.
Trump has threatened Tehran with military strikes if it doesn't agree to a deal, with Iran warning that any attack would trigger a regional war engulfing Israel and the US.
The US on Friday urged any of its citizens in Iran to leave or stockpile food and water if they're unable to do so. It's unclear how many Americans are still in Iran, but the number is probably small.
Trump's stated objective has morphed from assurances on the safety of Iranian protesters who staged mass anti-government demonstrations in December and January to a broader deal to constrain Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
There's widespread skepticism among analysts that the two countries can reach a deal.
“Despite some diplomatic progress, US strikes on Iran remain likely,” Gregory Brew and Henning Gloystein, analysts at Eurasia Group, said in a note to clients on Thursday. “Trump's preference for quick, decisive actions that do not turn into prolonged commitments means the expected US strikes would be intensive, but not prolonged.”
“This looks closer to an end-game than a routine negotiation cycle,” Amtelon Capital Chief Investment Officer Maciej Wojtal said in a note on Friday, adding that the US is likely to resist an open-ended timetable to negotiations.
“Escalation options range from targeted strikes on Revolutionary Guards missile infrastructure to maritime interdiction of Iranian oil shipments en route to China,” Wojtal said.
Much of Iran's atomic program was damaged in June when Israel carried out airstrikes and assassinations in the country. The US, which was holding talks with the Islamic Republic before the fighting began, joined in later, dropping bunker-busting bombs on key sites in Iran used to produce enriched uranium.
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