Iran and the US conclude a second round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in Rome

ROME AP A second round of negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear scheme ended Saturday after several hours of talks Iranian and American functionaries noted There was no immediate readout on how the talks went at the Omani Embassy in Rome s Camilluccia neighborhood A convoy carrying U S envoy Steve Witkoff left as Iranian state television publicized the talks conclusion with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi leaving a meager minutes later Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei described Iranian state TV right away after the negotiations that Iran will continue the path of the talks with seriousness to see crippling economic sanctions on his country lifted Iran will continue as far as talks go on in a constructive and purposeful way he added A U S official also validated the talks ended speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks Iranian authorities described the talks as indirect like those last weekend in Muscat Oman with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi shuttling between them in different rooms That talks are even happening represents a historic moment given the decades of enmity between the two countries since the Islamic Revolution and the U S Embassy hostage situation President Donald Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew from Iran s nuclear deal with world powers in setting off years of attacks and negotiations that failed to restore the accord that drastically limited Tehran s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions Talks come as tensions rise in the Mideast At vulnerability is a attainable American or Israeli military strike on Iran s nuclear sites or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic weapon Meanwhile tensions in the Middle East have spiked over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and after U S airstrikes targeting Yemen s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels killed more than people and wounded dozens more I m for stopping Iran very totally from having a nuclear weapon Trump mentioned Friday I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific Araghchi met Saturday morning with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani ahead of the talks with Witkoff Rafael Mariano Grossi the head of the International Atomic Capacity Agency the United Nations nuclear watchdog also met Tajani on Saturday Grossi s agency would likely be key in verifying compliance by Iran should a deal be reached as it did with the accord Iran reached with world powers Tajani revealed Italy was ready to facilitate the continuation of the talks even for sessions at the technical level A diplomat deal is built patiently day after day with dialogue and mutual respect he revealed in a message Araghchi Witkoff both traveled ahead of talks Both men have been traveling in current days Witkoff had been in Paris for talks about Ukraine as Russia s full-scale war there grinds on Araghchi will be coming from Tehran Iran after a visit to Moscow where he met with leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin Russia one of the world powers involved in Tehran s nuclear deal could be a key participant in any future deal reached between Tehran and Washington Analysts suggest Moscow could potentially take custody of Iran s uranium enriched to purity a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of Oman s capital Muscat hosted the first round of negotiations between Araghchi and Witkoff last weekend which saw the two men meet face to face after indirect talks Oman a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula has long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West Ahead of the talks however Iran seized on comments by Witkoff first suggesting Iran could enrich uranium at then later saying that all enrichment must stop Ali Shamkhani an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X before the talks that Iran would not accept giving up its enrichment venture like Libya or agreeing to using uranium enriched abroad for its nuclear initiative Iran has come for a balanced agreement not a surrender he wrote Iran seeks a deal to steady a troubled economic system Iran s internal politics are still inflamed over the mandatory hijab or headscarf with women still ignoring the law on the streets of Tehran Rumors also persist over the executive potentially increasing the cost of subsidized gasoline in the country which has sparked nationwide protests in the past Iran s rial currency plunged to over million to a U S dollar earlier this month The currency has improved with the talks however something Tehran hopes will continue Meanwhile two used Airbus A - long sought by Iran s flag carrier Iran Air arrived at Tehran s Mehrabad International Airport on Thursday flight-tracking details analyzed by The Associated Press evidenced The planes formerly of China s Hainan Airlines had been in Muscat and re-registered to Iran The aircraft have Rolls-Royce engines which include notable American parts and servicing Such a transaction would need approval from the U S Treasury given sanctions on Iran The State Department and Treasury did not respond to requests for comment Under the deal Iran could purchase new aircraft and had lined up tens of billions of dollars in deals with Airbus and Boeing Co However the manufacturers backed away from the deals over Trump s threats to the nuclear accord Gambrell communicated from Dubai United Arab Emirates Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran Iran contributed to this account Source