ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday arrived in Oman’s Muscat for a third round of nuclear talks with the US, as American President Donald Trump continues to warn of a potential military escalation if the two sides cannot reach a deal.

In a post on X announcing the minister’s arrival in the Omani capital, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that they are determined to protect “the legal and legitimate rights of the Iranian people to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” but are also ready to provide assurances about the nuclear program’s “peaceful nature.”

Talking to reporters at the Oval Office on Friday, US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran toward a nuclear deal are going “very well,” adding that an agreement is “well on its way and we could have a very, very good decision and a lot of lives will be saved.”

The US seeks robust assurances that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, while Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and that it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons.

“Ending the illegal and inhumane sanctions against the Iranian people, objectively and quickly, is a priority for us. It remains to be seen to what extent the other side is serious and prepared for a fair and realistic agreement,” Baghaei added.

In response to a question from Time Magazine on whether he would be open to meeting with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian or Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump said "sure", but also warned that he may go into war with Iran if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.

“I may go in very willingly if we can't get a deal. If we don't make a deal, I'll be leading the pack,” said Trump in the article published on Friday.

Top delegations from Iran and the US came together in Oman's Muscat earlier in April, which was followed by another meeting a week later in Rome to discuss Iran's nuclear program and find a middle ground to address their conflicts around the nuclear issue.

During his first term in 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal – an agreement between Tehran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Subsequent attempts at reviving the deal have failed to yield results.