(12 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Muscat, Oman – 12 April 2025
++DAY SHOTS++
1. Traffic
2. Various of Omani flag and building
3. Various of U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff’s motorcade
4. Tracking shot of boundary of venue where talks are being held
5. Various of motorcade leaving
++NIGHT SHOTS++
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press:
“Iran and the United States will meet again to negotiate over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. That’s the word tonight in Muscat, Oman, after over two hours of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. The U. S. was represented by Steve Witkoff, the Iranians were represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Interestingly enough, the two men supposedly talked directly to each other at the end of the meeting. All this is coming from Iranian state media. We haven’t heard yet from the Trump White House, but this matches up with what both sides said going into these talks, that they were looking for some sort of deal. The Iranians want those crushing economic sanctions lifted. The Americans want to see restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and tensions in the wider Middle East that have been inflamed by the Israel-Hamas war and the Gaza Strip tamped down. So, it’s likely we’re going to see more negotiations, but what’s going to happen next is going to depend on the diplomats at the table.”
7. Buildings
8. Royal Opera House
STORYLINE:
Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Iranian state TV said U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke in the presence of the Omani foreign minister” at the end of the talks, marking a direct interaction between the two nations locked in decades of tensions.
American officials did not immediately acknowledge the Iranian reports, which Tehran likely speeded out to its public ahead of a possible Trump post on social media. But declaring that the two sides spoke face-to-face — even if briefly — suggests the negotiations went well.
The talks began at around 3:30 p.m. local.
The two sides spoke for over two hours at a location on the outskirts of Oman, ending the talks around 5:50 p.m. local time.
The convoy believed to be carrying Witkoff returned to Muscat, the capital of Oman, before disappearing into traffic around a neighborhood that is home to the U.S. Embassy.
The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached.
Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
AP journalists saw a convoy believed to be carrying Witkoff leave the Omani Foreign Ministry on Saturday afternoon and then speed off into the outskirts of Muscat.
The convoy went into a compound and a few minutes later, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote on the social platform X that the “indirect talks” had begun.
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.
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