Newspaper headlines in Tehran, April 19, 2025. (Credit: Atta Kenare/AFP)
Iran appeared to be in a strong negotiating position after a second round of nuclear talks with the United States in Rome, Iranian media reported Sunday, ahead of new technical discussions and diplomatic meetings set for this week in Oman.
Both Tehran and Washington reported progress after Saturday’s talks and agreed to continue discussions. While there are no official direct negotiations between the longtime rivals, Oman has been mediating the exchanges.
Iranian officials and the U.S. envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, are scheduled to meet again Saturday in Oman. Technical-level talks between experts from both sides are slated for Wednesday.
The reformist daily Ham Mihan said the idea of initiating direct talks “will inevitably arise,” adding that continuing through a third party during the technical phase is “neither useful, nor possible, nor logical.”
Signs of economic relief
The discussions have fueled cautious optimism in Iran, where the government hopes to secure relief from crippling sanctions that have strangled the economy. The national currency, the rial, showed signs of recovery Sunday, trading at around 830,000 to the dollar, according to informal market trackers — a notable improvement from more than 1 million rials in early April.
The official IRNA news agency reported a “historic” jump in stock market capitalization on Saturday, linking the rise to growing confidence around the nuclear talks.
“Iran’s military power has forced America to negotiate,” read Sunday’s headline in the hardline Kayhan newspaper, which typically opposes engagement with the U.S. but has adopted a more moderate tone in recent days. “America needs us and the credibility that negotiations with Iran confer on it,” the newspaper wrote, while still describing U.S. President Donald Trump as an “untrustworthy psychopath” because of his “unpredictability.”
Red lines and opportunities
The reformist Shargh daily cautiously welcomed signs of progress and said the negotiations could help Iran “gradually discover what the other party wants.” The paper acknowledged that both sides have “red lines,” but suggested “new opportunities” may be emerging.
Iran continues to insist the negotiations focus solely on nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions. Officials have rejected any talk of dismantling the country’s nuclear program, limiting its missile capabilities, or ending its support for allied armed groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen — all of which Tehran considers non-negotiable.
For President Trump, the red line remains Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon — a claim Tehran repeatedly denies, asserting its nuclear program is intended solely for civilian energy purposes.
