High-level U.S. and Iranian delegations met Saturday in Rome for the countries’ second round of talks aimed at securing a new deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program.
Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, is representing the U.S. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is representing his nation. A delegation from Oman reportedly is acting as an intermediary between the U.S. and Iranian teams, which are seated in separate rooms at the Omani Embassy in Rome’s Camilluccia neighborhood.
The talks come amid warnings from the Trump administration that it is willing to use military force to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and against the backdrop of potential Israeli strikes to achieve that same goal.
But President Trump indicated Friday he has faith that negotiations, not military action, can be the answer.
“I’m for stopping Iran, very simply, from having a nuclear weapon,” the president said. “I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific.”
One of the central issues is Iran’s uranium enrichment. Rafael Grossi, the director of the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency, was also in Rome over the weekend. Before traveling there, he was in Tehran to meet with top Iranian officials.
Mr. Grossi’s public comments seem to suggest that, at least from the IAEA’s perspective, the goal is to limit Iran’s nuclear enrichment, not eliminate it entirely.
“Cooperation with [IAEA] is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed,” he said on X.
That position could put him at odds with the Trump administration. Earlier this week, Mr. Witkoff indicated that all of Iran’s nuclear-enrichment activities, including the enrichment of uranium, would not continue under the terms of a new nuclear deal.
“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal. Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East — meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” Mr. Witkoff wrote on 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.”
There have been mixed signals from the Trump administration on that issue. Just a day before that X post, Mr. Witkoff suggested in an interview with Fox News that Iran would be allowed to enrich uranium up to 3.67%, but no higher.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed by the U.S. under then-President Obama, limited Iran’s uranium enrichment to that 3.67% level, which is enough to produce nuclear power but not enough for a weapon. In exchange for those limits, the U.S. lifted some economic sanctions on Tehran.
Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of that deal during his first term. Mr. Trump and other critics said the 2015 agreement left open pathways for Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb and also did not address Tehran’s support for terrorist groups, among other shortcomings.
In February, the IAEA said that Iran has more than 600 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%. That was an increase of 204 pounds since the IAEA’s previous report last November, showing the rapid acceleration of Iran’s enrichment.
That 60% material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Iran has indicated it will not give up its nuclear program entirely.
“We are fully prepared to pursue a peaceful resolution for Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Mr. Araghchi said Friday, before traveling to Rome for the talks.
“If there is similar willingness on the other side, and they refrain from making unreasonable and unrealistic demands, I believe reaching an agreement is likely,” he said, according to English-language media translations of his remarks.
