Iran and the US prepare for a second round of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program in Rome

ROME – Iran and the United States prepared Saturday for a 2nd circular of negotiations implicit Tehran’s rapidly advancing atomic program successful Rome

The talks successful Italy implicit Easter play again volition hinge connected U.S. billionaire Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Whether the 2 men find communal crushed successful the high-stakes negotiations could mean occurrence oregon nonaccomplishment successful the talks.

That talks are adjacent happening correspond a historical moment, fixed the decades of enmity betwixt the 2 countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. Trump successful his archetypal word unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s atomic woody with satellite powers successful 2018, mounting disconnected years of attacks and negotiations that failed to reconstruct the accord that drastically constricted Tehran’s enrichment of uranium successful speech for the lifting of economical sanctions.

At hazard is simply a imaginable American oregon Israeli subject onslaught connected Iran’s atomic sites, oregon the Iranians pursuing done connected their threats to prosecute an atomic weapon. Meanwhile, tensions successful the Middle East person spiked implicit the Israel-Hamas warfare successful the Gaza Strip and aft U.S. airstrikes connected targeting Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed much than 70 people and wounded dozens more.

“I’m for stopping Iran, precise simply, from having a atomic weapon,” Trump said Friday. “I privation Iran to beryllium large and prosperous and terrific.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei wrote Saturday connected the societal level X that Iran “always demonstrated, with bully religion and a consciousness of responsibility, its committedness to diplomacy arsenic a civilized mode to resoluteness issues.”

“We are alert that it is not a creaseless way but we instrumentality each measurement with unfastened eyes, relying besides connected the past experiences,” helium added.

Araghchi, Witkoff some traveled up of talks

Both men person been traveling successful caller days. Witkoff had been successful Paris for talks astir Ukraine arsenic Russia’s full-scale warfare determination grinds on. Araghchi volition beryllium coming from Tehran, Iran, aft a sojourn to Moscow wherever helium met with officials including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia, a subordinate of the satellite powers progressive successful Tehran’s 2015 atomic deal, could beryllium a cardinal subordinate successful immoderate aboriginal woody reached betwixt Tehran and Washington. Analysts suggest Moscow could perchance instrumentality custody of Iran’s uranium enriched to 60% purity — a short, method measurement distant from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the archetypal round, already has arrived successful Rome and met with his Italian counterpart connected Friday. Baghaei said al-Busaidi again mediate betwixt the countries.

Oman, a sultanate connected the eastbound borderline of the Arabian Peninsula, has agelong served arsenic an interlocutor betwixt Iran and the West. Muscat hosted the archetypal circular of negotiations betwixt Araghchi and Witkoff past weekend, which saw the 2 men conscionable look to look aft indirect talks.

Iran seeks a woody to dependable troubled system

Iran’s interior authorities are inactive inflamed implicit the mandatory hijab, oregon headscarf, with women inactive ignoring the instrumentality connected the streets of Tehran. Rumors besides persist implicit the authorities perchance expanding the outgo of subsidized gasoline successful the country, which has sparked nationwide protests successful the past

Iran’s rial currency plunged to over 1 cardinal to a U.S. dollar earlier this month. The currency has improved with the talks, however, thing Tehran hopes volition continue.

Meanwhile, 2 utilized Airbus A330-200 agelong sought by Iran’s emblem carrier, Iran Air, arrived to Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport connected Thursday, flight-tracking information analyzed by The Associated Press showed. The planes, formerly of China’s Hainan Airlines, had been successful Muscat and re-registered to Iran.

The craft had Rolls-Royce engines, which see important American parts and servicing. Such a transaction would request support from the U.S. Treasury fixed sanctions connected Iran. The State Department and Treasury did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Under the 2015 deal, Iran could acquisition caller craft and had lined up tens of billions of dollars successful deals with Airbus and Boeing Co. However, the manufacturers backed distant from the deals implicit Trump’s threats to the atomic accord.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi successful Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

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