Iran and the US will hold talks in Rome.
Reuters reports that Iran and the United States will hold a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on April 19 to resolve the decades-long impasse over Tehran's nuclear goals, amid warnings from President Donald Trump that he will use military force if diplomacy fails.
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 the first round of negotiations in Muscat – which both sides described as "constructive".
Tehran has tried to temper expectations of a quick deal, after some Iranian officials predicted that sanctions could soon be lifted. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated this week that he was "neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic."
For his part, 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.”
Trump – who withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers during his first term in 2018 and reimposed harsh sanctions on Tehran – has revived the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran since returning to the White House in January 2025.
Washington wants Iran to stop producing highly enriched uranium, which it believes is intended for the manufacture of atomic bombs.
Tehran, meanwhile, has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, saying it is willing to negotiate some limits in exchange for the lifting of sanctions – but demanding binding commitments that Washington will not withdraw from the agreement again as Trump did in 2018.
Since 2019, Iran has violated and exceeded the uranium enrichment limits of the 2015 agreement, stockpiling uranium far beyond what the West considers necessary for a civilian energy program.
A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity when describing Iran's negotiating position, listed "red lines" that Tehran would not accept, including: never agreeing to dismantle uranium enrichment centrifuges, not completely ceasing enrichment activities, and not reducing its stockpiles of enriched uranium below the levels agreed upon in the 2015 deal. Iran also refused to negotiate on defense capabilities such as missiles.
Although both Tehran and Washington have declared a commitment to pursuing diplomatic solutions, the gap between the two sides remains vast in the dispute that has lasted for more than two decades.
Witkoff and Araqchi had a brief exchange at the end of the first round of talks last week, but officials from both countries haven't held direct talks since 2015, and Iran has indicated that the Rome talks will also be conducted indirectly through Omani mediators.
Russia – a party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – has offered to “assist, mediate, or play any role” that would benefit both Iran and the United States.
