High-level nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran concluded on Thursday with conflicting assessments of the outcome; Iran confirmed reports indicating that talks will continue next week in Vienna, as early as Monday.

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi confirmed the reports and said the US and Iran reached “positive results” on both the sanctions track and the nuclear program.

“Soon, in less than a week we will have another round of Iran U.S. talks.”

The US has not commented on the scheduling yet.

“A technical team is scheduled to begin work on the remaining technical matters starting next Monday,” Araghchi says.

While Omani mediators touted major headway and laid out next steps, other reports indicated that American negotiators reportedly found the Iranian terms severely lacking, and Israeli leadership warned that a deal is highly unlikely.

Following the conclusion of the afternoon’s second round of talks, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi offered an optimistic assessment of the proceedings.

“We have finished the day after significant progress in the negotiation between the United States and Iran,” Al-Busaidi told Axios. “We will resume soon after consultation in the respective capitals.”

Al-Busaidi further noted that while the primary delegations return home for consultations, discussions are scheduled to take place next week in Vienna. He concluded by expressing his gratitude “to all concerned for their efforts: the negotiators, the IAEA, and our hosts the Swiss government.”

Despite the positive tone from Muscat, Israeli assessments remain bleak. In Jerusalem, officials are projecting less confidence in the diplomatic process. Reacting to the developments in Geneva, a senior Israeli official told N12: “If it remains this way, there is no chance there will be an agreement. It’s not the Iranian DNA.”

The day’s negotiations featured a notable departure from standard protocol, with CNN reporting that President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, held direct, face-to-face talks with Araghchi.

This diplomatic push occurs against a backdrop of reported American military limitations in the region. According to The New York Times, U.S. military officials assess that the United States currently lacks sufficient troops or ammunition in the Middle East to sustain a large-scale bombing campaign against Iran. Officials estimate that, as things stand, the U.S. could only maintain such an offensive for a period of one week to ten days.

Meanwhile, regional military posturing continues, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier documented departing Crete on Thursday morning, en route to Israel.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. delegation presented rigorous demands: zero uranium enrichment, the complete dismantling of the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, and the transfer of all remaining uranium stockpiles to American custody in exchange for minimal sanctions relief.

Senior Iranian officials speaking to regional media categorically rejected these terms as “completely unacceptable.” Iran continues to insist that uranium enrichment is a “sovereign right.” According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian counter-proposal centers on a gradual reduction of the enrichment rate for a limited period. Alternative compromises reportedly floated by Tehran include capping enrichment at 1.5%, temporarily suspending enrichment for several years, or transferring operations to an Iranian-Arab consortium hosted within Iran.