Rome: A new round of talks between the United States and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme will be held in Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday.
He noted that Italy agreed to host the meeting following requests from the negotiating parties and Oman, which is serving as a mediator. Tajani made the remarks while visiting the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Ansa news agency reported.
He added that the Italian government is “prepared to do everything necessary to support negotiations that could lead to resolving the nuclear issue and building peace.”
A first round of indirect talks between US and Iranian officials was held in Oman on April 12.
These were the first such discussions since the United States withdrew in 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed in 2015.
Earlier in the day, Iran said that the next round of “indirect” talks with the United States over its nuclear programme will take place outside Oman, though the structure and mediation of the negotiations will remain unchanged, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, Tehran does not consider the location of the talks to be as significant as the framework in which they are held. He indicated that the discussions will continue to be conducted indirectly, with Oman maintaining its mediating role.
Baghaei said Muscat will coordinate the new venue for the upcoming round and expressed appreciation for Oman’s role in hosting the initial phase of negotiations.
Baghaei also dismissed the possibility of direct engagement with Washington, saying Iran does not view that format as effective. He said indirect talks are not unusual, and have been used previously in dealings between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi will travel to Russia later this week for talks on recent developments in indirect negotiations with the United States, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Baghaei told reporters that Tehran remains committed to consultations with all signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stressing that maintaining such interactions is “beneficial.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit, saying Araghchi will meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other senior officials during his trip.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with six major countries — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States — in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
However, the United States withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments. Efforts to revive the nuclear deal have not achieved substantial progress.
(IANS)
