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

ROME AP A second round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear undertaking began Saturday in Rome a U S official noted The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations at the Omani Embassy in Rome s Camilluccia neighborhood The negotiations seek to build on an initial meeting held in Oman last weekend The talks will again be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi Their success will hinge on U S billionaire Steve Witkoff the U S Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi At peril is a viable 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 THIS IS A URGENT NEWS UPDATE AP s earlier story follows below ROME AP Iran and the United States prepared Saturday for a second round of negotiations over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear initiative in Rome The talks in Italy over Easter weekend again will hinge on U S billionaire Steve Witkoff the U S Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi Whether the two men find common ground in the high-stakes negotiations could mean success or failure in the talks Both arrived late Saturday morning for the talks at the Omani Embassy in Rome s Camilluccia neighborhood 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 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 At hazard is a doable 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 merely from having a nuclear weapon Trump disclosed Friday I want Iran to be great and prosperous and terrific Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote Saturday on the social platform X that Iran consistently demonstrated with good faith and a sense of responsibility its commitment to diplomacy as a civilized way to resolve issues We are aware that it is not a smooth path but we take every step with open eyes relying also on the past experiences he added Araghchi met Saturday morning with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani ahead of indirect talks with Witkoff Iranian state television disclosed It disclosed the meeting would begin at a m local GMT 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 representatives including Russian President Vladimir Putin Russia a member 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 Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi who mediated the first round has already arrived in Rome and met with his Italian counterpart on Friday Baghaei mentioned al-Busaidi again mediate between the countries Oman a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula has long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West 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 Iran seeks a deal to steady troubled market 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 regime 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 figures analyzed by The Associated Press indicated The planes formerly of China s Hainan Airlines had been in Muscat and re-registered to Iran The aircraft had Rolls-Royce engines which included important 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 at once respond to a request 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 revealed from Dubai United Arab Emirates Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran Iran contributed to this document Source