ROME (AP) 鈥 Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran鈥檚 rapidly advancing nuclear program appeared ready to leave the Middle East on Monday, as an Italian source and others said the next round of negotiations would take place in Rome. But early Tuesday, Iran insisted the next round would again be held in Oman.
It wasn't immediately clear where the negotiations would be held after Tehran's overnight announcement. American officials have not said where the talks would be held. President Donald Trump separately complained Monday about the pace of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran as the two countries start a new round of pivotal negotiations.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e tapping us along,鈥 he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador's president.
The next meeting had been expected to take place on Saturday in Rome, according to a source in the Italian government who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also signaled the talks would take place there.
鈥淲e received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator and we gave a positive response,鈥 Tajani told reporters during a trip to Osaka, Japan. 鈥淲e are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue.鈥
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg, also said the coming talks would be in Rome. And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said Monday the talks would happen in Rome while speaking to his Iraqi counterpart on Monday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
Then early Tuesday, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying the talks would be back in Oman, without elaborating on the reason. Easter Sunday will be this coming weekend, a major holiday in Rome, which surrounds Vatican City, the home of the Roman Catholic church.
The first round of talks over took place over the past weekend in .
The stakes of the negotiations couldn鈥檛 be higher for the two nations . Trump repeatedly has threatened targeting Iran鈥檚 nuclear program if a deal isn鈥檛 reached. Iranian officials with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Speaking of Iran, Trump said 鈥淚 want them to be a rich, great nation.鈥 However, he said 鈥渢hese are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon."
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog separately confirmed he would be taking a trip to Iran later in the week, possibly to discuss ways to improve access for his inspectors to Tehran's program.
IAEA chief to head to Iran ahead of talks
The talks will follow a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iran later this week.
The IAEA played a key role in verifying Iran's compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and has continued to work in the Islamic Republic, even as after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018.
鈥淐ontinued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,鈥 Grossi wrote on X.
Grossi will arrive in Iran on Wednesday night and will meet with Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, quoting Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister.
Sanctions relief and enrichment remain top issues
The 2015 nuclear deal saw Iran agree to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67% 鈥 enough for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels and has enough stockpile for multiple nuclear bombs, should it choose to build them.
The deal lifted economic sanctions on Iran and unfroze assets around the world. The deal's collapse refroze those funds and limited Iran's ability to sell crude oil abroad 鈥 though it still sells to China, likely at a sharp discount.
While the U.S. can offer sanctions relief for Iran鈥檚 beleaguered economy, it remains unclear just how much Iran will be willing to concede. Judging from negotiations since 2018, Iran will likely ask to keep enriching uranium up to at least 20%. However, neither side has offered any public statements about what it is specifically seeking in the talks.
鈥淭here must definitely be guarantees in place regarding the fulfillment of commitments," Baghaei said Monday. "The issue of guarantees is especially important given the history of broken promises in the past. God willing, the negotiating team will continue its work with all these factors and points in mind.鈥
He added: 鈥淎s long as the language of sanctions, pressure, threats, and intimidation continues, direct negotiations will not take place.鈥
However, Araghchi and did meet and speak face to face after some two hours of indirect talks mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.
Speaking to journalists on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he met with Witkoff and that his envoy had 鈥渧ery good meetings on the Middle East.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檒l be making a decision on Iran very quickly," Trump said, without elaborating.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Megerian reported from Washington. Associated Press writers David Biller and Giada Zampano in Rome, Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Molly Quell at The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.
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