Oman, acting as a mediator, has announced that the fifth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is set to take place on Friday in Rome.
Iran and the United States have engaged in four rounds of Omani-mediated nuclear discussions since April 12, marking the highest level of contact between the two adversaries since Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord. In a post on X on Wednesday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi stated: “The 5th round of Iran-US talks will take place in Rome this Friday.”
The objective of these talks is to forge a new agreement that would restrict Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Western nations, including the United States, have consistently accused Iran of seeking to develop atomic weapons, while Iran maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday expressed skepticism, saying that the negotiations were unlikely to “lead to any outcome. We don’t know what will happen.” His comments come amid a diplomatic deadlock concerning the Islamic republic’s uranium enrichment activities. Khamenei warned that denying Iran’s right to enrich uranium would be “a big mistake.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Senate hearing in Washington that “we hope that we can reach an agreement with Iran.” Iran has repeatedly asserted that its right to maintain uranium enrichment is “non-negotiable,” a stance that US chief negotiator Steve Witkoff has termed a “red line.” Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, which is significantly higher than the 3.67% limit stipulated in the 2015 deal but still below the 90% required for a nuclear warhead.
