Iran and US to hold talks in Rome

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will hold indirect talks through intermediaries from Oman, a week after a first round of talks in Muscat - which both sides described as "constructive".

Tehran has tried to play down expectations of a quick deal, after some Iranian officials predicted that sanctions could be lifted soon. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week that he was “neither optimistic nor pessimistic.”

For his part, Mr. Trump told reporters on April 18: “I simply want to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. They cannot have nuclear weapons. I want Iran to be great, prosperous and wonderful.”

Mr Trump – who withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in his first term in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran – has revived a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran since returning to the White House in January 2025.

Washington wants Iran to end its production of highly enriched uranium, which it says is aimed at building an atomic bomb.

Tehran, meanwhile, has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful and has said it is willing to negotiate some limits in exchange for sanctions relief — but has demanded firm commitments that Washington will not withdraw from the deal again, as Mr Trump did in 2018.

Since 2019, Iran has breached and exceeded the limits on uranium enrichment in the 2015 deal, accumulating uranium far beyond what the West says is needed for a civilian energy program.

A senior Iranian official, who requested anonymity to describe Iran’s negotiating stance, listed “red lines” that Tehran would not accept, including: never agreeing to dismantle uranium enrichment centrifuges, not ending enrichment completely, and not reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium below the level agreed in the 2015 deal. Iran also refuses to negotiate on defense capabilities such as missiles.

Although both Tehran and Washington have said they are committed to pursuing diplomacy, the gap between the two sides remains wide in a dispute that has lasted more than two decades.

Witkoff and Araqchi spoke briefly at the end of the first round of talks last week, but officials from the two countries have not held direct talks since 2015, and Iran said the talks in Rome would also be conducted indirectly through Omani mediators.

Russia – a party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – has offered “readiness to support, mediate or play any role” that would benefit both Iran and the US.