ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The first round of nuclear talks between Iran and US with Omani mediation were concluded on Saturday with Iran’s foreign minister defining them as constructive.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said that the talks were conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

“I explained Iran's views firmly and at the same time with a forward-looking approach. Both sides decided to continue this process within a few days,” Iranian state media quoted Araghchi as saying.

The two sides are scheduled for a second round of nuclear talks in Oman next Saturday.

“These are the forms of negotiations that will be determined in due course, but what is important is the content and on what basis we negotiate. In this meeting, I think we came very close to a basis for negotiations,” Araghchi said.

Iranian state media also reported that Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff spoke briefly following the talks, in the presence of the Omani foreign minister.

The US, European powers, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have repeatedly raised concerns that Tehran is accelerating on its path toward developing nuclear weapons.

To ensure that Iran will never get its hands on nuclear arms, the administration of Trump has been relentlessly pushing Tehran to come to the negotiating table.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has recently said that Tehran "by no means" seeks a military conflict with the US, but is fully prepared to defend its sovereignty without hesitation in a phone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In late March, Trump threatened that if Tehran does not make a deal on the nuclear issue, “there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”

In early February, Trump signed a memorandum restoring his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran, which entails a series of extensive sanctions on Tehran and new economic measures to pressure the country.

In 2015, world powers agreed to ease international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program, a deal that came to be known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The United States, during the first Trump administration, unilaterally withdrew from the landmark and reimposed economic sanctions, causing extensive damage to the Iranian economy.