US, Iran prepare for second round of negotiations

Iran and the United States prepared Saturday for a second round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program in Rome.

The talks in Italy over Easter weekend again will be held between Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote Saturday on the social platform X that Iran “always 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 reported. 

On the content of the talks, Baqhaei said Iran’s peaceful nuclear program fully complies with international obligations, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and that Iran remains committed to its responsibilities while asserting its legal rights, according to the Iranian IRNA news agency.

Baqhaei added that Iran’s position regarding the lifting of “illegal sanctions and nuclear-related issues” are clear and were conveyed during the first round, which was held in the Omani capital of Muscat last Saturday.

Citing a source, Axios earlier reported that the first meeting, the highest-level dialogue between U.S. and Iranian officials in eight years, was "substantive, serious and excellent."

The Iranians raised the fact that US President Trump withdrew from the previous Iran deal and expressed concern that the U.S. could walk away again, the two sources say.

The U.S. side raised its own doubts about Iran's intentions regarding its nuclear program.

But officials on both sides have said they see a path forward. However, the Iranians have downplayed the idea that the next round of talks would be in a direct format.

The U.S. now wants to see Iran take steps in the near future to move its nuclear program further from weaponization.

One of the sources said one such step could be "downblending" Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade 60% enriched Uranium, which could be enough for six nuclear bombs.

Iran has denied having plans to develop nuclear weapons.