Key points
- US quit 2015 nuclear accord during President Trump’s first term
- Iran wants a new deal that would ease sanctions
- Last round of talks ended with a public spat over enrichment
TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian and US negotiators meet in Rome on Friday for a fifth round of nuclear talks, after a public disagreement over Tehran’s uranium enrichment.
According to AFP, the talks, which began in April, are the highest-level contact between the foes since the United States quit a landmark 2015 nuclear accord during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Since returning to office, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, backing talks but warning of military action if diplomacy fails.
Iran wants a new deal that would ease sanctions which have battered its economy.
The last round of talks, in the Omani capital Muscat, ended with a public spat over enrichment.
Araqchi arrives in Rome
According to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Rome, the capital of Italy, to participate in the fifth round of indirect talks with the US President’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, which are being held with the mediation of Oman.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, and a number of other diplomats and experts are among the members of the delegation accompanying the foreign minister.
Before departing for Italy on Friday, Araqchi wrote on his X account that he was set to travel to Rome for 5th round of indirect talks with the United States. He said that figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science: “Zero nuclear weapons = we do have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do not have a deal. Time to decide…”
Tehran’s red line
According to AFP, US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington “could not authorise even one per cent” enrichment — a position Tehran called a red line, citing its rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that the talks in the Italian capital were scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
They come ahead of a June meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the October expiry of the 2015 accord.
The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aimed to allay Western suspicions that Iran was seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition that Tehran has consistently denied.
In return for curbs on its nuclear programme, Iran had received relief from international sanctions. But the accord was torpedoed in 2018 when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States and reimposed sanctions, according to AFP.
