US, Iran talks end in Rome, next rounds in Muscat

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to hold another round of talks next week, Iranian state TV reported, as they ended their second round of negotiations in Rome over their decades-long standoff.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff negotiated indirectly through an Omani official who will shuttle messages between the two sides, Iranian officials said, a week after a first round of indirect talks in Muscat that both sides described as constructive.

A spokesperson for the Omani's Foreign Ministry confirmed that today's meetings in Rome between Iranian Foreign Minister, Dr. Abbas Araqchi, and the US Presidential Envoy, Steve Witkoff, through Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, the Foreign Minister, resulted in an agreement between the parties to move to the next phase of negotiations aimed at reaching a fair, permanent, and binding agreement that guarantees Iran's complete freedom from nuclear weapons and the complete lifting of sanctions, while preserving its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson added that both sides have agreed to enter into the next phase of their discussions that aim to seal a fair, enduring, and binding deal which will ensure Iran is completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintain its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy.

It is only in dialogue and clear communication that we will be able to achieve a mutually credible agreement and understanding for the benefit of all concerned regionally and internationally.

It is also agreed that the next round will take place in Muscat in the next few days.

Araqchi and Witkoff interacted briefly at the end of the first round, but officials from the two countries have not held direct negotiations since 2015 under former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Araqchi, in a meeting with his Italian counterpart ahead of the talks, said Iran had always been committed to diplomacy and called on 'all parties involved in the talks to seize the opportunity to reach a reasonable and logical nuclear deal'.

'Such an agreement should respect Iran's legitimate rights and lead to the lifting of unjust sanctions on the country while addressing any doubts about its nuclear work,' Araqchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

'There were useful indirect talks today between Iran and the United States conducted by Oman's Foreign Minister in a constructive atmosphere. The two sides agreed to continue the indirect talks in a few days at a technical level to be followed by another round at their level next Saturday, Esmaeil Baqaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.

We reached a better agreement on some principles, goals in the Rome negotiations, the Iranian foreign minister said.

The Iranian delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Rome ahead of nuclear talks with the United States, according to images broadcast early Saturday by Iranian state television.

Iran believes reaching an agreement on its nuclear programme with the United States is possible as long as Washington is realistic, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday on the eve of a second round of talks with the Trump administration.

'If they demonstrate seriousness of intent and do not make unrealistic demands, reaching agreements is possible,' Araqchi told a news conference in Moscow after talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia.

“This must be pursued carefully,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in a statement posted Tuesday on social media. “The red lines are clear. They’re clear for the other side, and they’re clear for us too.”

|He said he was “neither overly optimistic nor overly pessimistic” about the process, but described the first round of indirect talks as good.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is legal and meant only for civilian uses, such as energy and medical isotopes. It refuses to stop enriching uranium, the material needed to make a nuclear bomb.