Iran and the US are preparing for a second round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme.
The talks in Rome over Easter weekend will again hinge on US billionaire Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
That talks are even happening represents a historic moment, given the decades of enmity between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the US Embassy hostage crisis.
The US president, in his first term, unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018, setting off years of attacks and negotiations that failed to restore the accord that drastically limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
At risk is a possible American or Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic weapon.
Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have spiked over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and after US air strikes targeting Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed more than 70 people and wounded dozens more.
“I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Friday. “I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote on Saturday that Tehran “always demonstrated, with good faith and a sense of responsibility, its commitment to diplomacy as a civilised way to resolve issues”.
“We are aware that it is not a smooth path, but we take every step with open eyes, relying also on the past experiences,” he added.
Araghchi met Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday morning, ahead of “indirect” talks with Witkoff, Iranian state television reported.
Omani foreign minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the first round, has already arrived in Rome and met his Italian counterpart on Friday.
Associated Press – Matthew Lee and Jon Gambrell
