Nuclear, US-Iran talks remain in Oman: Rome for second round fades away

The next round of talks between Washington and Tehran on Iran's nuclear programme will again be held in Oman, according to the Iranian state news agency Irna. Quoted by the agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed that the second meeting between the delegations is scheduled for Saturday in the Omani capital, Mascate. Baqaei's words came on the heels of Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani's announcement that the talks on Saturday 19 would take place in Rome. On Saturday, Iran and the United States held an initial meeting in Mascate, with Oman involved as mediator. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated his hard line on Iran.

The one on 12 April in Muscat, the port capital of Oman, was the first such exchange since Donald Trump returned to the White House. Iran's state broadcaster confirmed that US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met briefly in person, marking the first direct interaction between American and Iranian officials at this level since the Obama era. A small step away from the format of 'indirect' interlocution between the delegations that the Iranian side insisted on. The meeting lasted for more than two hours in a secure location on the outskirts of Muscat, according to the Associated Press. Both sides described the talks as "productive". The White House in a statement Saturday used the formula "very positive and constructive," while acknowledging that the diplomatic hurdles to be overcome remain "very complicated," stressing that Witkoff's direct engagement represents a significant step in securing a mutually beneficial negotiating solution.

'I will solve the problem' of Iran, 'it's quite easy', Donald Trump assured, returning to threaten 'tough' action against the Islamic Republic if diplomacy fails. The talks focus on the one hand on the possible military use of Iran's nuclear power that Washington wants to curb, and on the other hand on the lifting of sanctions imposed on the ayatollahs. But Tehran does not trust and blames Trump for having first walked out of the agreement reached in 2015 also with Russia, China and some European countries. In Muscat "we tried to lay the groundwork for the talks, because we do not have the necessary trust in the Americans. In the next round, we will define the framework of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme and continue stage by stage. The Americans should provide guarantees on the lifting of sanctions,' explained Iranian chief negotiator Majid Takht-Ravanchi. "Iran will not accept the language of force and, if threatened, will react," he added.

Precisely because of this 'contradictory approach' between seeking dialogue and threats, Tehran insists that, as in Oman, the Rome talks also take place in an 'indirect' manner, with participants sitting in separate rooms and mediators shuttling back and forth between them. However in Muscat, after two hours of 'proximity talks', there was also a first direct meeting between Trump's envoy, Stefe Witkoff, and the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi. Before Saturday, moreover, the head of Tehran's diplomacy will travel to Moscow for preventive consultations, although 'already planned', with his Russian colleague Serghei Lavrov, dedicated precisely to the Roman meetings.

The international agenda in those days will also revolve around the capital: on 17 April Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will go to Washington to discuss tariffs with Trump, but she will immediately return to Rome to welcome US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who will arrive on the 18th. The White House number two will stay in the Eternal City until the 20th, Easter Sunday, crossing - it is not clear how closely - the Witkoff talks. Also this week, on Wednesday 16 April, IEA chief Rafael Grossi will fly to Tehran to meet Minister Araghchi and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Eslami, in the framework of cooperation and monitoring of Iran's nuclear facilities.