Iran’s foreign minister on Friday described talks with the United States in Oman as a “good start,” saying the negotiations “can also have a good continuation,” Iranian state media reported.

The discussions, mediated by Oman, marked a resumption of nuclear diplomacy between Tehran and Washington. Iranian state media said the current round of talks concluded on Friday, with both delegations returning to their respective capitals.

Speaking to state media reporters in Muscat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks’ progress depends on the U.S. and on decisions made in Tehran.

Araghchi said a “significant challenge” remains, citing a prevailing atmosphere of distrust. He said Iran’s priority is to overcome this distrust and then establish an agreed framework for the talks and the issues on the table.

He described the talks as a fresh round of dialogue after eight turbulent months that included a war, saying the accumulated distrust presents a major obstacle to negotiations.

“If this same approach and perspective are maintained by the other side, we can reach an agreed framework in future sessions,” Araghchi said, adding that he did not want to judge prematurely.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei also confirmed on the social media platform X that both sides agreed to continue talks and would decide the next round in consultation with their capitals.

Pakistan’s security forces used drones and helicopters to wrest control of a southwestern town from separatist insurgents after a three-day battle, police said on Wednesday, as the death toll in the weekend’s violence rose to 58, Reuters reported.

Saturday’s wave of coordinated attacks by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army brought Pakistan’s largest province to a near standstill as security forces exchanged fire with insurgents in more than a dozen places, killing 197 militants.

“I thought the roof and walls of my house were going to blow up,” said Robina Ali, a housewife living near the main administrative building in the fortified provincial capital of Quetta, where a powerful morning blast rocked the area.

Fighters of the BLA, the region’s strongest insurgent group, stormed schools, banks, markets and security installations across Balochistan in one of their largest operations ever, killing more than 22 security officials and 36 civilians, read the report.

Police officials gave details of the situation on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

In the desert town of Nushki, home to about 50,000, the insurgents seized control of the police station and other security installations, triggering a three-day standoff.

Police said seven officers were killed in the fighting before they regained control of the town late on Monday, while operations against the BLA continue elsewhere in the province.

“More troops were sent to Nushki,” said one security official. “Helicopters and drones were used against the militants.”

Pakistan’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, mineral-rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan and is home to Beijing’s investment in the Gwadar deepwater port and other projects.

It has grappled with a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.

The BLA, which has urged people of the province to support the movement, said on Tuesday it had killed 280 soldiers during its Operation “Herof”, Black Storm, but gave no evidence.

Security officials said the weekend attacks began at 4 a.m. on Saturday with suicide blasts in Nushki and the fishing port of Pasni and gun and grenade attacks in 11 more places, including Quetta.

The insurgents seized at least six district administration offices during the siege and had advanced at one point to within 1 km (3,300 ft) of the provincial chief minister’s office in Quetta, the police officials said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday, marking the first stop of his regional tour, according to Türkiye’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran.

Erdogan is in Saudi Arabia on an official visit, accompanied by his wife, First Lady Emine Erdogan, as well as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and other senior officials.

No further details were released about the closed-door meeting.

Following the talks, bin Salman hosted a closed-door dinner in honor of the Turkish president at the Yemame Palace. Earlier in the day, Erdogan was welcomed by the crown prince during an official reception.

The Riyadh visit is the first leg of Erdogan’s tour of regional countries.

He is scheduled to travel to Cairo on Wednesday at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to co-chair the second meeting of the Türkiye-Egypt High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

During his visit to Egypt, Erdogan and Sisi are expected to discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international developments, with a particular focus on the situation in Palestine, Duran said.

The Turkish president is also set to attend a Türkiye-Egypt Business Forum in Cairo.