Tourists take photos at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)2025-04-25T05:28:58Z MUSCAT, Oman (AP) Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program will return Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal. The talks seek to limit Irans nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.Neither Iran nor the U.S. have offered any explanation on why the talks will return to the Omani capital of Muscat, nestled in the Hajar Mountains. Oman has been a mediator between the countries. Last weekends talks in Rome offered a more-equal flight distance between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who are leading the negotiations. But Rome remains in mourning after the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral will be Saturday. And Iranian state television, in covering last weekends talks, complained at length on air about the paparazzi gathered across the street from the Omani Embassy in Romes Camilluccia neighborhood. As you can see, unlike the first round of talks where the presence of journalists was limited and the Omanis had special management in place to prevent a large and chaotic media presence from disrupting the negotiations, this time in Rome, Italy, that kind of control hasnt been applied, said Hosnieh Sadat Shobeiri, an Iranian state TV journalist in gray, all-encompassing chador. Because of the crowd were seeing here, with media outlets from various countries including some that are anti-Iran its possible that well hear more conflicting reports and news aimed at disrupting the talks coming out of Rome compared to Oman. Expert talks come as Iran lines up Chinese and Russian supportThe Muscat talks come as Iran appears to have lined up Chinese and Russian support. Araghchi traveled to Moscow last week and this week visited Beijing. On Thursday, Chinese, Iran and Russian representatives met the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog that likely will verify compliance with any accord like it did with Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That deal included China and Russia, as well as France, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, Iran has greatly restricted the IAEAs inspections leading to fears internationally that centrifuges and other nuclear material could be diverted. The IAEA offered no readout from the talks, but Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency on Friday described the three nations as saying the agency has the necessary potential and expertise to contribute constructively to this process. China, Russia and Iran emphasized that political and diplomatic engagement based on mutual respect remains the only viable and practical path for resolving the Iran nuclear issue, the report said. It added that China respects Irans right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The Trump administration has kept France, Germany and the U.K. out of its direct negotiations with Iran, something similarly reflected in Witkoffs negotiations with Russia over ending its war on Ukraine.Araghchi meanwhile has said hes open to visiting Berlin, London and Paris to discuss the negotiations. The ball is now in the E3s court, Araghchi wrote on the social platform X on Thursday, using an acronym for the countries. They have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path. How we act at this critical junction is likely to define the foreseeable future. U.S. hardens its stance on enrichmentThe U.S. technical team was expected to arrive in Oman on Friday ahead of the talks Saturday. Theyll be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubios policy planning staff. Anton does not have the nuclear policy experience of those who led Americas efforts in the 2015 talks. However, he was an early supporter of Trump, describing the 2016 election as a charge the cockpit or you die vote. A Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto, Anton wrote. With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances.He also criticized Iran sycophancy in the same essay. Rubio, speaking on a podcast released this week, also kept up a Trump line that Iran needed to stop its enrichment of uranium entirely.If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries can have one, and that is they import enriched material, Rubio said.But Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. Witkoff also has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all enrichment must stop. Meanwhile, one more wildcard is Israel, whose devastating war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds on. Trump initially announced the Iran talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side. But Israel, which for years has targeted Irans nuclear program with attacks on its facilities and scientists, has kept open the possibility of airstrikes to destroy Tehrans enrichment sites. On Monday, Israels military conducted drills preparing for possible new Iranian missile attacks, the countrys public broadcaster KAN reported.Our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response, Araghchi wrote Wednesday on X. ___The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.___Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/ JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto