Iran has confirmed that the next round of nuclear talks with the United States this weekend will be held in Rome after earlier confusion over the location of the negotiations.
Officials initially identified Rome as hosting the negotiations, only for Iran to insist early on Tuesday that they would return to Oman.
An Iranian state TV announcement said Oman will again mediate the talks on Saturday in Rome. Oman’s foreign minister served as an interlocutor between the two sides at talks last weekend in the capital Muscat.
The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached.
Iranian officials have increasingly warned that they could pursue the development of a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Iranian vice president resigns
Wednesday’s announcement came as Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian formally approved the resignation of one of his vice presidents who served as Tehran’s key negotiator in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Mohammad Javad Zarif served as a key supporter of Pezeshkian in his election last year but attracted criticism from hard-liners within the Shiite theocracy, who long have alleged Zarif gave away too much in negotiations.
“Pezeshkian emphasised that due to certain issues, his administration can no longer benefit from Zarif’s valuable knowledge and expertise,” a statement from the presidency said.
The president in a decree appointed Mohsen Ismaili, 59, to be his new vice president for strategic affairs. In Iran’s political system, the president has multiple vice presidents. Ismaili is known as a political moderate and a legal expert.
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, arrived in Tehran for meetings with Pezeshkian and others, which likely will be held on Thursday as his previous visits saw engagements take place the morning after his arrival.
Since the landmark nuclear deal’s collapse in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in 2015 and saw Iran agree to limit its nuclear activities in return for international sanctions relief.
Steve Witkoff wants a ‘Trump deal’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US about taking contradictory stances in the talks.
“Enrichment is a real and accepted issue and we are ready for trust-building about possible concerns,” Araghchi said, but added that losing the right to enrich at all “is not negotiable.”
Araghchi’s warning likely refers to comments from US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who this week initially suggested a deal could see Iran go back to 3.67% uranium enrichment, similar to the 2015 level when the deal was reached by the Obama administration.
Witkoff then followed up with saying “a deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal.”
“Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponisation program,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
“It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do.”
