Rhino: Agencies – Iran’s Etemad Melli newspaper on Thursday quoted Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran’s acting foreign minister, as saying that Iran is still holding indirect nuclear talks with the United States through Oman.

Bagheri Kani’s comments followed remarks by a White House spokesman on Monday that the US is not ready to resume nuclear talks with Iran under President-elect Masoud Bazeshkian.

Bagheri Kani was quoted as saying: “Indirect talks are taking place through Oman, but the negotiation process is confidential, and details cannot be talked about.”

Efforts are being made to create a “favorable atmosphere” for the negotiations for the new Iranian government, which will take office in the next few weeks.

Pazeshkian, a relative moderate who won a run-off in Iran’s presidential election last week, has pledged to pursue a pragmatic foreign policy and ease tensions with the six major powers involved in the now-stalled nuclear talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.