Iranian president hopes for US nuclear deal as talks set for Italy

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that he hopes a deal can be reached with the United States, as the two countries prepare for a second round of nuclear talks this weekend.

“We would naturally welcome the conclusion of an agreement” with the US, Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying during a cabinet meeting.

The first round of talks, held last Saturday in Oman’s capital Muscat, was led by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will be held on Saturday in Italy and not Oman, Iranian state media reported.

“The second round of Iran-US nuclear talks will be held next Saturday in Rome … and the Omani foreign ministry will be hosting the talks,” Iranian state TV said.

European officials had earlier said the talks would be held in Rome, but Iranian officials had insisted they would be held in Oman.

Also on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Italian foreign ministry confirmed to AFP that the talks would be held in Rome.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, in a post on X, appeared to criticise the changing of the location of the talks.

“In diplomacy, such a move, promoted by extremist elements lacking an understanding of logic or the art of reasonable negotiation, can jeopardise any beginning,” he said, adding that it can “be seen as a lack of seriousness and good faith.”

Iran FM says uranium enrichment ‘non-negotiable’

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Iran’s enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme was “non-negotiable” after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called for a halt.

“Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Araghchi condemned what he called the “contradictory and conflicting positions” coming out of the Trump administration ahead of Saturday’s talks.

“We will find out the true opinions of the Americans during the negotiation session,” he said.

Iran’s top diplomat said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement, but said that required “constructive positions” from the United States.

“If we continue to [hear] contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems,” he warned.

Araghchi is set to head to Iranian ally Russia on Thursday, Iran’s ambassador in Moscow, Kazem Jalili, said. Iran has said the visit was “pre-planned” but will include discussions on the Iran-US talks.

“The objective of [my] trip to Russia is to convey a written message from the supreme leader” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Araghchi said.

##: Iran ‘not far’ from nuclear bomb: IAEA chief

Meanwhile, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog was quoted as saying in a Le Monde interview published on Wednesday that Iran is not far from having an atomic bomb, just hours before a visit to Tehran for talks with senior officials.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said Iran still had a way to go before getting the bomb, but added: “They’re not far from it, you have to acknowledge.”

Grossi likened the development of a nuclear weapon to a jigsaw puzzle, adding that Iran “has the pieces and they could eventually put them together one day”.

In its latest report, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilogrammes of uranium enriched to up to 60 per cent. That level far exceeds the 3.67pc ceiling set by the 2015 deal but still falls short of the 90pc threshold required for a nuclear warhead.

The UN watchdog was tasked with overseeing Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that fell apart after Donald Trump withdrew from it during his first term as US president.