The second round of nuclear talks between the US and Iran is set to start on Saturday in Rome, Italy, to negotiate over Tehran’s atomic ambitions.
The talks follow a first round in Muscat, Oman, which both sides described as “positive” and “constructive,” amid the US President Donald Trump’s reiteration that he will never allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon.
Indirect Talks in Rome
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, has arrived in Rome to participate in the second round of talks, according to a post on his Telegram account.
Aragchi is leading Iran’s delegation in the negotiations with the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. Negotiations will take the form of indirect discussions through mediators from Oman, reported Reuters.
Iran’s Cautious Optimism
On Friday, Aragchi said that Tehran believes that reaching a deal with Washington is “possible” as long as the US is realistic. Moreover, the Spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, on Saturday emphasized that Iran is committed to diplomacy.
“Iran always demonstrated, with good faith and a sense of responsibility, its commitment to diplomacy as a civilized way to resolve issues. We are aware that it is not a smooth path but we take every step with open eyes, relying also on the past experiences,” he wrote on X.
However, Iran tried to lower expectations of a quick agreement, amid speculations that the US would lift sanctions soon. In the light of this, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, played down expectations of a breakthrough in the talks. He said this week that he was “neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic.”
Trump’s Threats
Trump has repeatedly vowed that the will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, threatening Tehran of military action if diplomacy failed. “I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific,” he told reporters on Friday.
The US President has warned Iran that it would be “in real danger” in case the talks failed. “If it requires military, we’re going to have military. Israel will obviously be very much involved in that. They’ll be the leader of that,” Trump threatened earlier.
Furthermore, Washington has sent the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its striking group to the Gulf of Oman ahead of Rome talks, to support the USS Harry Truman, which has been launching strikes against the Houthis as part of the US campaign against the Iranian-backed militia in Yemen.
Curbing Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
The US wants Iran to abandon its nuclear program, fearing that Tehran is pursuing an atomic bomb. “Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East – meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” Witkoff wrote on X on Tuesday.
Witkoff also said that Iran’s uranium enrichment levels should not exceed 3.67%. On Monday, he told Fox News: “They do not need to enrich past 3.67%. In some circumstances, they’re at 60%, in other circumstances, 20%. That cannot be.”
The US Special Envoy suggested that the Trump administration may consider the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, from which Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018, as a basis for negotiations.
“This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization. That includes missiles, the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there. And it includes the trigger for a bomb,” Witkoff added.
Iran Red Lines
Tehran has insisted that its defense capabilities, including its missile program, are not up for negotiation. Moreover, Iran has asked for reliable guarantees that the US will not scrap the agreement as Trump did in 2018.
Tehran’s red lines also include never agreeing to dismantle its uranium enriching centrifuges, halt enrichment altogether, or reduce its enriched uranium stockpile below levels agreed in the 2015 deal, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The US, Israel, and Western countries worry that Iran is pursuing an atomic bomb by accelerating its uranium enrichment to 60% purity, close to the 90%-weapon-grade level.
On Tuesday, the political advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Shamkhani, said that Iranian negotiators have full authority to reach a comprehensive deal based on 9 principles. These include seriousness, guarantees, lifting sanctions, halting threats, containing aggressors (such as Israel), and facilitating investments, he posted on X.
