The United States and Iran convened a second round of negotiations on Saturday in Rome, with discussions centered on Tehran’s nuclear program.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Omani Embassy, in Rome’s Camilluccia district. The four-hour meeting was mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and was described by both parties as productive.
“We made very good progress in our direct and indirect discussions,” a U.S. official told CBS News. “We agreed to meet again next week and are grateful to our Omani partners for facilitating these talks and to our Italian partners for hosting us.”
Araghchi said the next meeting will take place on April 26 in Muscat, Oman. Before that, technical experts from both countries will meet to begin drafting a framework for a possible agreement.
Iran said only the nuclear issue was discussed in Rome, despite some expectations that other topics might be raised. “The Americans have not raised any issues unrelated to the nuclear topic so far,” Araghchi said.
Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on X on Saturday said both sides agreed to continue talks in pursuit of a deal that would ensure Iran is “completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, and maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy.”
#Statement || A spokesperson for Oman’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that in today’s meeting in Rome, Iran’s Foreign Minister Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi and US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, through the mediation of Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid @badralbusaidi , pic.twitter.com/vuZSvvQw7s
— وزارة الخارجية (@FMofOman) April 19, 2025
A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, Brian Hughes, said President Donald Trump wants a new deal that keeps Iran from developing nuclear weapons. “All options remain on the table,” Hughes said before the talks.
The first round of talks took place last weekend in Muscat. The renewed dialogue between the U.S. and Iran comes amid rising regional tensions, following U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen and the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
