Key points
- Talks will be mediated by Oman
- The sultanate has hosted three rounds of talks so far
- US-Iran talks began on April 12
ISLAMABAD: Iran said Wednesday the next round of negotiations over its nuclear programme it will have with the United States will be in Rome on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the comment on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting, adding that Iran also anticipated having a meeting Friday with France, Germany and the United Kingdom to discuss the talks, AP reported.
The talks with the US again will be mediated by Oman. The sultanate has hosted two rounds of talks in Oman’s capital, Muscat, and one round at its embassy in Rome.
The longtime adversaries have held three rounds of talks aiming for a deal on the programme.
The talks, which began on April 12 and are mediated by Oman, are the highest-level contact in years between the two sides, according to AFP.
European representation
“The next round of negotiations will take place in Rome,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
The top diplomat said Iranian officials would also meet on Friday with representatives from Britain, France and Germany — all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal.
The deal called for the lifting of sanctions in exchange for curbing Iran’s nuclear activities, but fell apart when Washington withdrew from it in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term as US president.
“Genuine diplomacy”
After France threatened that the European trio could reimpose sanctions, Iran’s UN mission said that “threats and economic blackmail” were “entirely unacceptable”.
“Genuine diplomacy cannot proceed under threats or pressure,” the diplomatic mission said in a letter carried Wednesday by Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Trump sent a letter in March to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks and warning of possible military action if Iran refused.
Since he returned to office in January, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign, mirroring his approach during his first term.
Tehran has insisted that the ongoing talks should be solely focused on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions.
During the last round in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday, both sides reported progress.
