The talks between Iran and the United States on the rapid development nuclear program of Tehran seemed to leave the Middle East on Monday, while diplomatic sources announced that the Italian government had given the green light to hold the next series of negotiations.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Japan journalists that the Italian government had agreed to organize talks, while his Iranian counterpart said on Monday that the next talks would be “probably held elsewhere than Oman”.
“This is not an important question,” the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmail Baghaei, told journalists at a press conference in Tehran.
Neither Iranian nor American officials immediately recognized the place of the second series of negotiations, but the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp said that the upcoming talks are in Rome.
Speaking during a meeting in Luxembourg, Veldkamp said that talks could take place on Saturday April 19.
However, with the change of place, it is likely that Oman, who welcomed the first round of talks on Saturday in Muscat, would continue to mediate between the two parties.
Earlier Sunday, American president Donald Trump praised the first series of talks, describing them as “positive” and “constructive”.
Trump said he expected to decide Iran “very quickly”.
While the two countries are approaching the end of half a century of hostility, the challenges of negotiations could not be higher.
If an agreement is not concluded, Trump warned that the United States could launch air strikes targeting the nuclear program of Iran, while Tehran officials said that their uranium stock, which was enriched at levels close to the grade of arms, could be used to develop a nuclear bomb.
Meanwhile, analysts claim that if the United States can offer sanctions with regard to the besieged economy of Iran, it is not clear to what extent Iran will be willing to concede.
Judging by negotiations since 2018, Iran should ask to enrich uranium up to at least 20%.
“There must certainly be guarantees in place concerning the completion of commitments,” said Baghaei on Monday.
“The question of guarantees is particularly important given the history of broken promises in the past. God wants, the negotiation team will continue their work with all these factors and points in mind,” he added.
Later this week, Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will go to Iran for talks.
ADVERTISEMENTAfter Trump unilaterally withdrawn America from the historic nuclear agreement of 2015, the IAEA continued to operate in the Islamic Republic even though the country's government gradually reduced its access to nuclear sites.
The IAEA has helped to confirm Iran's membership in the agreement with the other signatories of the Pact.
“Continuous engagement and cooperation with the agency are essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are necessary urgently,” wrote Grosi in an article on X.
Additional sources • AP
