The United States and Iran will resume talks today on Tehran's nuclear program, a week after a first round of discussions that both sides described as "constructive."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Rome, footage broadcast earlier today by Iranian state television showed, where he is due to join the talks brokered by Oman and U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Whitkoff.
They come a week after the two sides held what Iran called indirect talks in Muscat. They were the first such high-level discussions between the warring sides since US President Donald Trump pulled out of the landmark nuclear agreement in 2018.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran has consistently denied, insisting its program is for peaceful civilian purposes.
Tehran and Washington have not maintained diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has resumed his sanctions campaign against Iran to "maximize pressure."
In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanding a resumption of nuclear talks while warning of military action if diplomacy failed.
"I am in no hurry to use the military option. I think Iran wants to talk," Trump asserted on April 16, as quoted by AFP.
On April 17, Araghchi said Iran "has noticed some seriousness" from the US during the first round, but questioned their intentions.
"Although we have serious doubts about the intentions and motives of the US side, we will participate in the next negotiations in any case," he told a news conference in Moscow.
In a social media post, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai wrote that Tehran "is aware that the road is not smooth, but we are taking each step with open eyes, also relying on past experience." | BGNES