"Countries in the region are acting as intermediaries in the exchange of messages," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagei said, without providing details about possible negotiations.
Relations have been strained since the Iranian regime brutally suppressed protests that erupted late last year, with reports of thousands of protesters killed.
"Several points have been addressed and we are examining and finalizing the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope will be concluded in the coming days. This concerns the methods and the framework," a ministry spokesman said in Tehran.
Previously, US President Donald Trump announced that he had sent a large military force near Iran.
Commenting on Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's warning of a possible devastating war across the region, Trump said that "of course Khamenei says those things."
"But we sent them the largest war fleet. Hopefully we'll make a deal. If not, we'll find out if he was right," Trump said over the weekend.
Trump said that the Iranian side is talking to the US, and "seriously." However, these are not direct talks, but through intermediaries, primarily Qatar.
Aragchi: War would be a disaster for everyone
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with CNN that trust must first be restored before direct negotiations can begin. Iran, he said, has lost trust in the United States as a negotiating partner.
"We have to overcome this mistrust," Araghchi said. However, he described the mediated talks as "fruitful" and pledged that Iran was ready to give up its nuclear weapons:
"President Trump says 'no nuclear weapons'. We completely agree with that. This could be a very good agreement. Of course, in return we expect the lifting of sanctions," the Iranian foreign minister said.
He also warned of the consequences if the talks fail. "If war breaks out, it would be a disaster for everyone. Many countries in the region would be affected. That could be very dangerous," he told CNN.
Tehran's response to the EU
After the European Union declared the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, Tehran today summoned the ambassadors of EU countries for talks in protest.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bagei said Tehran was considering a range of actions and different options in response to the decision. "We believe that a decision will be made in the coming days on reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran to the illegal, unreasonable and very wrong move of the EU," Bagei said.
In response to the EU move, Iran declared the military forces of EU member states as terrorist organizations on Sunday. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused EU countries of "blind obedience to the US."
And the US has already sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers to the Middle East.
Whether President Donald Trump will use force remains an open question.
"Trump is trying to find a moderate response to Iran's mass killing of protesters in order to punish Iranian leaders without dragging the United States into a new, open conflict in the region," said the New York-based think tank, the Sufan Center.
They assess, however, that Trump has set conditions for a diplomatic solution that Tehran cannot accept.
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