Iran says indirect talks with U.S. continue via Oman

Iran said it has continued indirect negotiations with the United States through the Sultanate of Oman over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner swap.

Iran on Monday said it has continued indirect negotiations with the United States through the Sultanate of Oman over its nuclear deal and a possible prisoner swap.

Iran's nuclear programme has long been the subject of scrutiny from Western powers, resulting in sanctions that have crippled the country's economy.

A 2015 deal granted Tehran much-needed sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme before it was torpedoed by the United States' unilateral pullout in 2018.

In recent days, the two capitals have denied media reports that they were close to reaching an interim deal to replace the 2015 accord.

"We welcome the efforts of Omani officials and we exchanged messages with the other party through this mediator" over the lifting of U.S. sanctions, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said on Monday.

"We have never stopped the diplomatic processes," he added during his weekly press conference, emphasising that the talks "were not secret".

Diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington soured in 1980 following the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Iran's first supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.