MUSCAT — Iran resumed indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States on Wednesday after a 48-hour suspension that Tehran had imposed over the Lebanon ceasefire dispute, with Omani officials facilitating the resumed dialogue in Muscat, diplomatic sources confirmed. The resumption follows President Donald Trump's public insistence on Monday that talks were proceeding 'at rapid pace,' a claim that appeared to apply pressure on Iranian negotiators to re-engage rather than allow the diplomatic track to collapse entirely.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Tehran delegation into a third round of proximity talks, with the US represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff. The two sides did not meet face-to-face, with Omani intermediaries shuttling proposals between delegations at a government guesthouse outside the capital. The central sticking point remained Iran's demand for sanctions relief before any verifiable reduction in uranium enrichment activity, a sequencing dispute that has defined the talks from their outset.

The temporary suspension, announced by Iranian state media on Sunday, had been triggered by what Tehran described as 'contradictory signals' from Washington over the Lebanon situation — specifically, Trump's reported discussions with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hezbollah representatives over a ceasefire framework that Iran viewed as bypassing its interests in the region. Iranian officials had warned that linking Lebanon negotiations to the nuclear file was unacceptable.

Diplomats familiar with the process said Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi played a decisive overnight role in persuading Iranian leadership that walking away entirely would damage Tehran's international standing at a moment when economic pressure from sanctions was mounting. Oil prices ticked lower on Wednesday morning in Asian markets following news of the resumption, reflecting cautious optimism among traders that a partial framework agreement could materialise within weeks.

Analysts cautioned that the resumed talks remained fragile. 'The suspension and resumption pattern we are seeing is consistent with Iranian negotiating tactics designed to extract maximum concessions while preserving domestic political cover,' said a Gulf-based diplomatic analyst. European observers from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, who are not direct parties to the current format, said through a joint statement that they welcomed the resumption and urged both sides to move toward a verifiable interim agreement before the summer recess in key capitals.