Iran’s foreign minister and Trump’s Middle East envoy to negotiate indirectly through mediators from Oman
A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags is seen in this illustration taken on January 15, 2025. —Reuters
- Tehran has sought to tamp down expectations of a quick deal.
- Sides described the first round of talks a week ago as productive.
- Washington wants a halt to Iran’s uranium enrichment.
Under President Donald Trump’s threat to launch military action if diplomacy fails, Iran and the USA will hold a brand new round of nuclear talks on Saturday in Rome to solve their decades-long standoff over Tehran’s atomic aims. A week after an optimistic first round in Muscat, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Wightman will negotiate indirectly through Omani mediators. Tehran has sought to tamp down expectations of a brief deal, after some Iranian officers speculated that sanctions may be lifted quickly. Iran’s utmost authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week he changed into “neither overly positive nor pessimistic”.
For his component, Trump told reporters on Friday: “I’m for preventing Iran, very absolutely, from having a nuclear weapon. Nuclear guns are out of the question. Iran has to be splendid, prosperous, and awesome, in my view.”
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has revived his “most stressed” campaign on Iran. During his first period, Trump deserted a 2015 nuclear percent among Iran and six powers and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran. Iran ought to forestall producing relatively enriched uranium, which Washington believes is being used to make an atomic bomb. Washington demands. Tehran, which has always stated its nuclear programme is peaceful, says it is willing to barter some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions; however wishes watertight ensure that Washington will no longer renege once more as Trump did in 2018.
Iran has passed the 2015 settlement’s limits on its uranium enrichment since 2019, producing stocks far over what the West considers important for a civilian power application. A senior Iranian reputable, who defined Iran’s negotiating function on the situation of anonymity, indexed Iran’s red lines as never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enrichment centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether, or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below the stages agreed within the 2015 deal. Iran also rejects negotiating approximately defence skills consisting including missiles.
While each Tehran and Washington have said they’re set on pursuing diplomacy, there’s still a huge hole between them on the dispute that has rumbled on for more than many years.
At the beginning of the first round last week, Witkoff and Araqchi had a brief conversation. However, officers from the 2 international locations haven’t met in individual seeing that 2015, and Iran stated the talks in Rome would also be held not directly via Omani mediators. Russia, a celebration of Iran’s 2015 nuclear settlement, has offered “to assist, mediate, and play any position” to be useful to Iran and the United States.