Iran confirms that the 2nd round of nuclear talks with the U.S. will be in Rome

顿鲍叠础滨&苍产蝉辫;—&苍产蝉辫;Iran confirmed Wednesday that the next round of nuclear talks with the United States this weekend will be held in Rome after earlier confusion over where the negotiations would be held.

The announcement by Iranian state television came as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian formally approved the resignation of one of his vice presidents who served as Tehran’s key negotiator in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also arrived in the Islamic Republic on Wednesday. His talks may include negotiations over just what access his inspectors can get under any proposed deal.

The state TV announcement said Oman will again mediate the talks on Saturday in Rome. Oman’s foreign minister served as an interlocutor between the two sides at talks last weekend in Muscat, the sultanate’s capital.

Officials initially on Monday identified Rome as hosting the negotiations, only for Iran to insist early Tuesday they would return to Oman. American officials so far haven’t said publicly where the talks will be held, though Trump did call Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on Tuesday while the ruler was on a trip to the Netherlands.

The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. President Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Pezeshkian praises former vice president

The former vice president, Mohammad Javad Zarif, served as a key supporter of Pezeshkian in his election last year but drew criticism from hard-liners within Iran’s Shiite theocracy, who long have accused Zarif of giving away too much in negotiations.

In March, Zarif tendered his resignation to Pezeshkian. However, the president did not immediately respond to the letter. Zarif has used resignation announcements in the past in his political career as leverage, including in a dispute last year over the composition of Pezeshkian’s Cabinet. The president had rejected that resignation.

But on late Tuesday, a statement from the presidency said Pezeshkian wrote Zarif a letter praising him but accepting his resignation.

“Pezeshkian emphasized that due to certain issues, his administration can no longer benefit from Zarif’s valuable knowledge and expertise,” a statement from the presidency said.

The president in a decree appointed Mohsen Ismaili, 59, to be his new vice president for strategic affairs. In Iran’s political system, the president has multiple vice presidents. Ismaili is known as a political moderate and a legal expert.

Visit comes as Iran restricts IAEA access

Grossi arrived in Tehran for meetings with Pezeshkian and others, which probably will be held Thursday as his previous visits saw the engagements the following morning after his arrival.

Since the nuclear deal’s collapse in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdraw of the U.S. from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons, something the West and the IAEA have been worried about for years since Tehran abandoned an organized weapons program in 2003.

Any possible deal between Iran and the U.S. probably would need to rely on the IAEA’s expertise to ensure Tehran’s compliance. And despite tensions between Iran and the agency, its access has not been entirely revoked.

Iran questions contradictory responses from U.S.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday warned the U.S. about taking contradictory stances in the talks.

That probably refers to comments from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who this week initially suggested a deal could see Iran go back to 3.67% uranium enrichment — like in the 2015 deal reached by the Obama administration. Witkoff followed up by saying “a deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal.”

“Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program,” he wrote on the social platform X. “It is imperative for the world that we create a tough, fair deal that will endure, and that is what President Trump has asked me to do.”

Araghchi warned America about taking any “contradictory and opposing stances” in the talks.

“Enrichment is a real and accepted issue, and we are ready for trust building about possible concerns,” Araghchi said. But losing the right to enrich at all “is not negotiable.”

Gambrell and Karimi write for the Associated Press. Karimi reported from Tehran. The AP’s Amir Vahdat in Tehran contributed to this report.