U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were "positive," senior U.S. official says

The intrigue: The talks between Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took place over several hours, in a morning and an afternoon session.

• The U.S. side was "disappointed" by the Iranian positions during the morning session, according to a source familiar.
• But Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated the talks, said after the morning session that they had shown "significant progress."
• Araghchi also said both sides had shown "clear seriousness" about getting a deal.
• Both Araghchi and al-Busaidi said the next steps would be consultations in Washington and Tehran, followed by technical discussions between nuclear experts in Vienna next week. Araghchi also said there would be a "fourth round of negotiations next week."

Breaking it down: Thursday's third round was held in two formats: indirectly, with al-Busaidi relaying messages between the sides, and directly between the U.S. and Iranian negotiators, according to a source with knowledge.

• The Iranians presented their much-anticipated draft proposal for a nuclear deal during the morning session.
• Al-Busaidi and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, both participated in the negotiations. The talks next week are expected to take place at IAEA headquarters.
• The sides then took a break, during which time Witkoff and Kushner met with Ukrainian officials, before resuming in the afternoon.

What they're saying: During the break, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera that Iran had rejected the idea of permanently abandoning uranium enrichment, dismantling its nuclear facilities, and moving its uranium stockpiles out of the country.

• The official said Iran's proposal includes reducing the uranium stockpile to low enrichment levels under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
• "Our proposal in Geneva is politically serious, technically creative, and includes everything required to reach an agreement immediately," the Iranian official told Al-Jazeera.
• Al-Busaidi said the sides had "been exchanging creative and positive ideas" and "hope to make more progress."

The other side: Witkoff and Kushner were disappointed with the Iranian positions, the source said after the morning session.

• It's unclear if their thinking changed after the afternoon meetings.
• If they report back to Trump that there was no breakthrough, it would make a military strike more likely.

State of play: The U.S. came into the talks with a demand that Iran agree any future nuclear deal will remain in effect indefinitely.

• Another key U.S. demands were that Iran give up on its stockpile of 10,000kg of enriched uranium.
• The U.S. was willing to show a degree of flexibility on Iran's demand that it retain the right to enrich uranium, but only if Tehran could prove there was no path to a bomb.
• Araghchi said Iran had also presented its expectations on sanctions relief.

Between the lines: Trump said in his State of the Union address that Iran needs to clearly say it doesn't want a nuclear weapon. Iran has long claimed to have no such ambitions.

• Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei wrote on X on Thursday as the talks were ongoing in Geneva that if this is the main issue for the U.S. it "aligns" with Khamenei's Fatwa and Iran's defensive doctrine, "and an immediate agreement is within reach."
• "Araghchi has sufficient support and authority for this deal," Shamkhani wrote.

Editor's note: This is a developing story and was updated with comments from U.S., Omani and Iranian officials and a source familiar with the talks.