Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said talks between the United States and Iran would resume on Thursday in Geneva "with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing” a deal on Tehran's nuclear program.
Speaking to CBS News on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said details of a possible deal were being drawn up ahead of the renewed talks, after Washington's envoy Steve Witkoff had publicly wondered why Tehran had not yet "capitulated.”
Witkoff said in a Fox News interview broadcast Saturday that US President Donald Trump was questioning why Iran had not yet given in to the pressure.
"He's curious as to why they haven't... I don't want to use the word 'capitulated', but why they haven't capitulated," he said.
"Why haven't they come to us and said, 'We profess we don't want a weapon, so here's what we're prepared to do'?"
Meanwhile, US threats of military action have multiplied.
"If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves," Araghchi said, alluding to American interests in the region as potential targets.
Still, he said, "there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution.”
Their comments came after a senior US official told Axios that the Trump administration is prepared to consider a proposal that allows Iran “token” nuclear enrichment if it leaves no possible path to a bomb.
This suggests there could be an opening, if only a small one, between the red lines set by the US and Iran for a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear capabilities and prevent war, according to Axios.
A senior Iranian official also told Reuters that Tehran could seriously consider a combination of exporting part of its highly enriched uranium (HEU) stockpile, diluting the purity of its HEU and a regional consortium for enriching uranium, but in return Iran's right to "peaceful nuclear enrichment" must be recognized.
"The negotiations continue and the possibility of reaching an interim agreement exists," the official said.
The senior official said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources but US companies can always participate as contractors in Iran’s oil and gas fields.
