ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump voiced his frustrations on Monday regarding the slow progress of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran, as the two nations commenced another critical round of talks.
“I think they’re tapping us along,” he remarked in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador’s president.
According to a source from the Italian government, the anticipated next meeting is set to take place on Saturday in Rome. The source requested anonymity to speak freely about the diplomatic arrangements, as they were not authorized to make public statements.
While Iranian officials did not directly confirm the plans, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated to his Iraqi counterpart on Monday that talks would indeed occur in Rome, as reported by the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
During his comments on Iran, Trump expressed his desire for the country to thrive economically, stating, “I want them to be a rich, great nation.” However, he emphasized concerns regarding Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities, declaring, “these are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The initial round of discussions concerning Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear ambitions took place over the weekend in Oman, which is likely to continue mediating the negotiations despite the upcoming change in venue.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, while on a trip to Osaka, Japan, confirmed the plans, saying, “We received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator […] and we gave a positive response.” Tajani assured reporters, “We are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue.”
In a separate but related development, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog announced plans to visit Iran later this week to discuss improving access for inspectors monitoring Tehran’s nuclear program.
The stakes for these negotiations are exceedingly high, given the longstanding adversarial relationship between the two nations, which stretches back nearly half a century. Trump has repeatedly threatened military action, including potential airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, should a satisfactory agreement fail to materialize.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have increasingly expressed that they may pursue the development of a nuclear weapon, supported by their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp also affirmed that upcoming talks would take place in Rome. However, U.S. and Iranian officials have yet to officially confirm the venue change.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei noted, “The next round of talks will probably be held somewhere other than Oman. It’s not an important matter.”
The impending talks are expected to follow a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to Iran later this week.
The IAEA has played a critical role in verifying Iran’s compliance with its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers and has continued overseeing activities in Iran, even as the country has limited its cooperation following the U.S. withdrawal from the accord in 2018.
Emphasizing the importance of collaboration, Grossi stated, “Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” in a post on social media platform X.
Grossi is scheduled to arrive in Iran on Wednesday night, where he plans to meet with Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, which cited Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister.
Amidst these developments, the issue of sanctions relief remains a contentious topic in the negotiations, alongside discussions about Iran’s uranium enrichment levels. Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed to significantly reduce its uranium stockpile and limit enrichment to 3.67 percent, suitable for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. Currently, however, Iran is enriching uranium up to 60 percent, just a technical step away from weapons-grade levels, and has amassed enough of the material for multiple nuclear bombs if it chooses to proceed.
The agreement also resulted in the alleviation of economic sanctions on Iran and released frozen assets globally. However, the collapse of the deal has reimposed these sanctions and hindered Iran’s ability to export crude oil, although it continues to find alternative markets, notably in China, often at discounted prices.
While the U.S. could extend sanctions relief to assist Iran’s struggling economy, it remains uncertain how much Iran would be willing to concede in return. Historical negotiations since 2018 suggest Iran will likely seek to maintain the ability to enrich uranium to a minimum of 20 percent.
Neither side has publicly disclosed their specific negotiating objectives regarding the upcoming talks. Baghaei emphasized the crucial need for guarantees concerning the implementation of commitments, stating, “The issue of guarantees is especially important given the history of broken promises in the past.”
He added, “As long as the language of sanctions, pressure, threats, and intimidation continues, direct negotiations will not take place.”
Despite the tension, direct discussions took place between Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, which followed two hours of indirect negotiations mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump remarked on his meeting with Witkoff, stating that the discussions regarding the Middle East had been productive. “We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” Trump stated, but he did not provide further details regarding the impending decisions.
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