Vehicles from the U.S. delegation leave the Omani embassy in Rome after a second session of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, April 19, 2025. (Credit: Andreas Solaro / AFP)
Iran and the United States are scheduled to meet again on April 26 in Oman for a third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, following indirect discussions held Saturday in Rome that helped “move the negotiations forward,” according to Tehran. These talks took place a week after the two sides, adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, held an initial exchange in Oman.
“The negotiations are progressing,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi following the second round of talks mediated by the Sultanate of Oman. “It was a good meeting,” he added. “We will meet again next Saturday in Oman,” Araghchi announced on Iranian state television, noting that “technical discussions at the expert level will begin on Wednesday.”
According to Omani diplomacy, Tehran and Washington are seeking a “fair, lasting and binding” agreement that would ensure “an Iran without nuclear weapons and without sanctions.”
Saturday’s talks, led by Araghchi and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, lasted four hours.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai stated that the two delegations were seated "in two separate rooms" at the Omani ambassador’s residence in Rome, with the Gulf Sultanate’s foreign minister overseeing the mediation. Both Iranian state television and the Tasnim news agency reported a “constructive atmosphere.”
'Maximum pressure'
This marks the second meeting at this level since the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under Donald Trump’s first presidency from the international agreement that had imposed limits on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Since his return to the White House, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, with which the United States has had no diplomatic relations since 1980. In March, he called on Tehran to negotiate a new deal but threatened to bomb Iran if diplomacy failed. However, Trump stated Thursday that he was “not in a hurry” to resort to military options. “I think Iran wants to talk,” he emphasized.
Before Saturday’s talks, Araghchi expressed his “serious doubts” about the United States' intentions. “We are aware that the path” to an agreement “is not without obstacles,” Esmail Baghai wrote on X on Saturday.
Western countries and Israel, Tehran's arch-enemy and considered by experts as the only nuclear power in the Middle East, suspect Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran rejects these allegations and defends its right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, particularly for energy.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde published on Wednesday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, stated that Iran is "not far" from possessing an atomic bomb.
After the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 agreement and the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, Tehran has gradually distanced itself from the deal. The country now enriches uranium up to 60%, well above the 3.67% limit set by the agreement, but still below the 90% threshold required to make a nuclear weapon, according to the IAEA. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Europeans on Friday to make a “critical decision” regarding the “re-imposition of international sanctions” on Iran.
'Red lines'
Iran insists that negotiations be limited to nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions, considering any discussion about dismantling its nuclear program entirely as a "red line." No topic other than Iran’s nuclear issue was raised by the United States on Saturday, said Mr. Araghchi. “The Americans have not raised any discussions outside of Iran’s nuclear issue so far,” he told Tasnim.
Some media speculated that Iran's ballistic program or its support for armed groups hostile to Israel, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, would be on the table for discussions. Mr. Araghchi also warned the United States on Friday against making “unreasonable demands,” after Mr. Witkoff called earlier in the week for the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran's ideological army, has excluded any discussion of its military and defense capabilities, including its ballistic program, which raises international concerns. Iran’s regional influence is also among the country’s “red lines,” according to the official news agency Irna.
Iran and the United States are scheduled to meet again on April 26 in Oman for a third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, following indirect discussions held Saturday in Rome that helped “move the negotiations forward,” according to Tehran. These talks took place a week after the two sides, adversaries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, held an initial exchange in Oman.“The negotiations are progressing,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi following the second round of talks mediated by the Sultanate of Oman. “It was a good meeting,” he added. “We will meet again next Saturday in Oman,” Araghchi announced on Iranian state television, noting that “technical discussions at the expert level will begin on Wednesday.”According to Omani diplomacy, Tehran and Washington are seeking a “fair,...
