US and Iran make significant progres in nuclear talks , mediator says

abc.net.au · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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2 hours agoThu 26 Feb 2026 at 8:26pmOman's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi (right) with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff (centre) and Jared Kushner. (AP Photo: Foreign Ministry of Oman)In short:The US and Iran have made "significant progress" during talks on Tehran's nuclear program in Switzerland, according to mediator Oman.While the US did not comment after the talks ended, Iran's foreign minister told Iranian state television they had been the most intense exchanges between the two countries.What's next?Oman says the US and Iran plan to resume negotiations next week in Austria's capital, Vienna.The US and Iran have made "significant progress" in talks aimed at resolving a longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new US strikes on Iran, mediator Oman says, amid a large-scale US military build-up in the Middle East.The two sides plan to resume negotiations soon after consultations in their countries' capitals, with technical-level discussions scheduled to take place next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X after the day's talks ended in Switzerland."We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran," Mr Albusaidi wrote.In an interview with Iranian state television just after the talks ended, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it had been "one of our most intense and longest rounds of negotiations".He offered no specifics, but added: "What needs to happen has been clearly spelled out from our side."A senior Iranian official had told Reuters earlier that the US and Iran could reach a framework for a deal if Washington separates "nuclear and non-nuclear issues".On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held indirect talks mediated by Oman, one session in the morning and the second convened in the afternoon.There was no immediate comment from the US on the outcome of the talks.The discussions over the decades-long dispute over Iran's nuclear work come as fears grow of a Middle East conflagration, with US President Donald Trump threatening action if there is no deal and the US military building up its forces in the region.US special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff — a billionaire real estate developer and friend of Mr Trump — met with Iran's foreign minister in an effort to convince his country to halt its enrichment of uranium, a key step to building a nuclear bomb, and curtail or stop its production of long-range missiles.Iran has maintained that it will continue to enrich uranium even as its program sits in ruins following a US attack in June on three of its nuclear sites. If an American attack happens, Iran has said all US military bases in the Middle East will be considered legitimate targets and has also threatened to attack Israel.Reuters/AP