The second round of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran is expected to take place in Rome on Saturday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Axios. The Trump administration was pleased with the first round of talks in Oman, which proceeded according to plan and achieved its goal of moving from indirect to direct talks with officials. The US government wants this to happen in Rome, where the US proposed a change of negotiation venue. The two main negotiators, the US envoy Steve Witkoff and the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, spoke for approximately 45 minutes on Saturday, longer than publicly announced, according to a source familiar with the matter. The talks began with a clear sense of mistrust. The Iranians pointed out that President Donald Trump had withdrawn from the previous Iran agreement and expressed concern that the US could withdraw again. The US wants Iran to take steps in the near future to remove its nuclear program from military capability. One such step could involve reducing the Iranian stockpile of almost weapon-grade, 60% enriched uranium, which could be enough for six atomic bombs. The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that Iran’s goal is the lifting of sanctions. While the second round of talks will not take place in Oman, Omanis will be present as mediators. This time, the negotiations could be conducted with Iranian and US representatives in the same room. Additionally, Witkoff reportedly informed the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, about the talks during his meeting with Trump. Israel is very skeptical that the talks will lead to an agreement and has urged the White House to consider a military option in case the talks fail. Furthermore, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, traveled to Tehran for nuclear talks on Wednesday. The head of the nuclear watchdog agency of the United Nations was quoted in an interview with Le Monde published on Wednesday, stating that Iran is not far from possessing an atomic bomb, just a few hours before a visit to Tehran.
Rome Talks: Iran, USA to Discuss Nuclear Program Removal
