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On Saturday, 19 April, a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran began in Rome, aimed at resolving the long-standing standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme. The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of harsh statements by US President Donald Trump, who has warned that if diplomacy fails, Washington is ready to resort to military action.
According to Iranian sources, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are taking part in the talks. Communication between the parties takes place through an intermediary from Oman, who transmits messages – a format that has been maintained since the previous round, held a week ago in Muscat and described as “constructive”.
This is the first serious diplomatic contact between representatives of the two countries since 2015, when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed, an agreement that Trump withdrew from in 2018.
Prior to the Rome talks, Araqchi met with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, stressing that Iran remains committed to diplomacy. He stressed that any new nuclear solution should be based on respect for Iran’s sovereign rights and include the lifting of sanctions. In his turn, Tayyani emphasised on social network X: “Rome is becoming the capital of peace and dialogue. Italy hopes for a responsible solution to the conflict over Iran’s nuclear programme.”
Nevertheless, Tehran is trying to avoid inflated expectations. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei noted this week that he was “neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic”. At the same time, against the backdrop of Trump’s public statements ruling out any possibility of Iran possessing nuclear weapons, the question of realistic prospects for a compromise remains open.
“I am in favour of simply preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. They cannot have them. But I want Iran to be strong and prosperous and fantastic,” Trump said on Friday.
Israel is also closely monitoring the situation: according to one Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the discussions, Israel is not ruling out the possibility of striking Iran’s nuclear infrastructure in the coming months.
The Trump administration, having returned to the White House in January 2025, resumed its policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran, re-imposing a series of sanctions covering the energy sector, banking system and military industry.
