Written by Layla Hassan, Middle East & North Africa Correspondent
VIENNA — US and Iranian negotiators resumed nuclear talks in Vienna on Saturday for the third consecutive day, with both sides describing the discussions as the most substantive engagement between the two countries in years, according to a joint statement from the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
The US delegation, led by special envoy Joel Maybury, met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib Abasi. The talks focused on limitations on Iran’s uranium enrichment, the eventual removal of sanctions, and a possible prisoner exchange of up to 16 Americans held in Iranian prisons.
“We came to Vienna ready to listen, and that is exactly what happened,” Maybury said. “There is a great deal of work still to do, but this was not a walkaway.” Iran called the talks “constructive and businesslike.”
The EU’s foreign policy chief said a fourth round had been scheduled for next week in Geneva. Both sides agreed in principle to a “freezes-for-freezes” arrangement — Iran would pause enrichment above 3.67% in exchange for a partial suspension of oil-sector sanctions. The IAEA was granted access to visit two Iranian nuclear sites, a development the agency called “unprecedented.”