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Negotiators for Iran and the United States have concluded a fifth round of talks in Rome, with Omani mediator Badr al-Busaidi saying there was “some, but not conclusive, progress” in the negotiations aimed at resolving a decades-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff led the high-level talks.
Araghchi told Iranian state television that the talks had been “one of the most professional rounds of negotiations” so far, noting that while an agreement had not been reached, the Iranian side was “not discouraged”. “We firmly stated Iran’s position… The fact that we are now on a reasonable path, in my view, is itself a sign of progress,” Araghchi said.
The Iranian side has rejected the US demand to halt uranium enrichment, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling it “excessive and outrageous”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington is working to reach an agreement that would allow Iran to have a civil nuclear energy program, but not enrich uranium. Araghchi responded on social media, saying “figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science”. “Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal. Time to decide,” he added.
The stakes are high for both sides, with the US seeking to curtail Tehran’s potential to produce a nuclear weapon and Iran insisting its nuclear ambitions are strictly civilian. The talks come after the US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iran has responded by escalating uranium enrichment.
Hamid Reza Gholamzade, director of think tank The House of Diplomacy, said threats of military action were just a “stick” to “bully” Iran into negotiations. “Iran knows that the threat is not real, and if there is any attack, Iran would respond strongly to that,” he said. The US, he added, does not want a “fully fledged war in the region”.