The announcement will arrive in Tehran for consultations that could revolve around inspector accessibility.
Iran has confirmed that the next nuclear talks with the US will be held in Rome this weekend after previous confusion over where negotiations will take place.
The announcement on Iranian state television on Wednesday comes as Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian officially approved the resignation of one of the vice presidents, who served as Tehran’s leading negotiator in a 2015 nuclear deal with the world power.
Rafael Grossi, head of the UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency, also arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for consultations that could include negotiations on what his International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access would be obtained based on the proposed transaction.
The provincial television announcement said Oman would again mediate Saturday’s talks in Rome. Omani’s foreign minister served as an interlocutor between the two during negotiations in Muscat, Omani’s capital.
On Monday, some officials first identified Rome as holding negotiations, but Iran only insisted that the team would return to Oman early on Tuesday. US officials have not publicly stated where consultations will be held, but President Donald Trump had called Oman’s Sultan Haisambintarik on Tuesday, when the ruler was traveling to the Netherlands.
The negotiations come amid growing tensions between the US and Iran over the latter nuclear development.
Trump repeatedly threatened to unleash an air strike targeting Iran’s nuclear program if the contract was not reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that nuclear weapons can be pursued with stockpiles of uranium that are close to weapon grade levels.
“Like a puzzle”
Grossi arrived in Tehran for a meeting with Pezeschkian and others. This could take place on Thursday.
Just before his arrival, Grossi warned that Iran was “not too far” from owning a nuclear bomb.
“It’s like a puzzle. They had works and one day they were able to put them together,” Grossi told the French newspaper Le Monde in an interview released Wednesday.
“There’s still a way to go before they get there, but they’re not too far, that has to be recognized,” he said.
Since nuclear deal collapsed after Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the US from the deal in 2018, Iran has abandoned all restrictions on its program, enriching uranium to 60% pure.
Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA are confused, but Iran has banned some of the most experienced inspectors of the Vienna-based agency. Iranian officials have also threatened that the Western countries and the IAEA can pursue atomic weapons that they have been worried about for years.
Possible transactions between Iran and the US may need to rely on IAEA expertise to ensure Tehran’s compliance. And despite tensions between Iran and the institution, its access has not been completely revoked.
“Negotiation not possible”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragci warned the US on Wednesday about taking a contradictory stance in talks.
His remarks came after comments from US Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkoff. Steve Witkov suggested that Iran could return to 3.67% uranium enrichment this week. Witkov then said, “A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump transaction.”
“Iran must stop and eliminate nuclear enrichment and weaponization programs,” Witkov wrote on Social Platform X.
In response, Araguchi issued a warning to the United States.
“Enrichment is a realistic and accepted issue and we are ready to trust any possible concerns,” Araguchi noted. But losing the right to enrich everything is “unnegotiable,” he said.
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