Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is heading to the Sultanate of Oman on Friday, heading a specialized diplomatic and technical delegation, to conduct a third round of indirect talks with the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program.

This follows two previous rounds in Muscat and Rome, during which the two sides made "progress," according to Iranian and American officials. This new round of negotiations will be held on Saturday, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

The United States will be represented in these talks by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Michael Anton, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Division, who will lead the technical component of the talks on Iran's nuclear program.

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will participate in the technical talks on the sidelines of the meeting.

Baghaei stated that "progress in the negotiations requires the other side to demonstrate good faith, seriousness, and realism," while Araghchi, in previous statements, emphasized that Tehran would enter the negotiations with "seriousness," calling on the US side to do the same.

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce indicated that this round would be the first between technical teams from both sides. She noted that the last meeting between Witkoff and Iranian officials in Rome last Saturday ended in an "optimistic" atmosphere, without disclosing any details.

In a related context, Araghchi expressed his willingness to visit France, Germany, and Britain for consultations on the nuclear issue and bilateral relations, following similar consultations with Moscow and Beijing in recent days.

In a post on the X platform, the Iranian Foreign Minister stated that the ball is now in the E3's court (France, Germany, and Britain), emphasizing his country's openness to discussing issues beyond the nuclear issue "in every area of common interest."

For its part, the French Foreign Ministry said it would closely monitor the Iranian announcement and stressed its desire to continue the dialogue. No official responses have yet been issued from Berlin or London.

Araghchi visited China on Wednesday and held talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He also visited Moscow last week, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Despite praising the partnership with Moscow and Beijing, he considered his country's relations with the three European capitals to be at their "lowest levels" currently, and accused Israel of attempting to undermine the diplomatic process through continued incitement against Iran.

In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric toward Iran on Wednesday, describing it as an "existential threat." He argued that Tehran's possession of a nuclear weapon would put "the fate of humanity" at risk, even as Iran emphasizes the peaceful, civilian nature of its nuclear program.

The resumption of these talks comes amidst the absence of any meaningful impact from the 2015 nuclear agreement, which the United States unilaterally withdrew from in 2018 during Trump's first term, and amid cautious openness to attempts to revive the faltering diplomatic track.