The Iranian and US delegations have met for the second round of talks. The 19 April meeting comes a week after the two sides met in Oman.
White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi led their delegations to the Rome talks. They will negotiate indirectly through an Omani official who will relay messages between the two sides
“Tehran realises that this is not a smooth path, but we are taking each step with open eyes, relying also on past experience,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Bakaei said in a message to X on the eve of the meetings.
A day earlier, Araqchi said he doubted the Americans’ intentions. Iran’s foreign minister called on Russia to support the nuclear talks. And US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped the Iranian talks would be “fruitful”.
“We would all like a peaceful and long-term solution,” he said after the meetings in Paris.
US Middle East representative Steve Whitkoff told Fox News on April 14 that any diplomatic agreement reached with Iran would focus on details related to verifying the country’s uranium enrichment and weapons programmes.
Tehran and Washington held the first round of nuclear talks over the weekend in Oman, after which both sides said the talks were “positive” and “constructive”.
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful and wants an agreement that will lead to the lifting of sanctions that are hurting its economy.
Trump has said that in the absence of an agreement, military strikes would be launched against Iranian nuclear facilities, potentially involving Israel. Tehran has rejected the threats, calling them” an affront ” to peace and security.
It is estimated that Iran can enrich enough uranium for one bomb in less than a week and enough for several bombs within a month.