TEHRAN – Iran and the US ended indirect nuclear negotiations for the fifth round in Rome on Friday.
Foreign Minister Oman, the mediator of the discussion, was the first to release the conclusions for the fifth round, and said “some” had not made any “conclusive” progress using X. “We hope to clarify the remaining issues in the coming days and move towards a common goal of reaching a sustainable and honorable agreement,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi and the envoy of the US Special President Steve Witkov led their respective negotiation teams, as in the previous round. According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei, Witkoff’s flight schedule required him to leave Oman’s diplomatic facilities before others, but a team of American experts was about to continue negotiating.
The integrity of the US commitment to constructive nuclear talks has been raised in question over the past week after Witkov and other American officials publicly demanded that Iran cease enrichment of uranium and dismantle its most important nuclear facilities. These assumptions were met with widespread condemnation in Tehran, but have largely derailed Iran’s participation in the latest negotiations. The Iranian negotiating team told the Tehran Times that uranium enrichment is an unnegotiable red line for Iran. This was consistently held not only in current negotiations, but also in previous nuclear debates in the 2010s and the past two and a half years.
Before heading to Italy to take part in the fifth round of indirect negotiations, Araguchi repeated his country’s firm stance. “Listening to the path to trade is not rocket science,” he posted to X before the flight. “Zero nuclear weapons = there is trade. Zero enrichment = there is no trade.”
Following the conclusion of the fifth round on Friday, the top diplomat said the debate had entered a “logical” trajectory. “Now it appears they have a clearer and more accurate understanding of Iran’s position on the US side. This round was one of the most specialized negotiation stages I’ve ever experienced.”
Araghchi noted that the Omani Foreign Minister proposed an initiative to promote progress. He added that Omani’s proposal improved the outlook for a breakthrough, but warned that the process would be complicated and would take longer than “two or three sessions.”
The analyst had the same heart as Araguchi. North American affairs expert Amir Ali Abolfas said the fact that despite the red line claimed by both Iran and the US last week, the latest round still brought some advances is indicative of the trade, although not easy. “The key is that Iran maintains its uranium enrichment capabilities. Stopping uranium enrichment may allow us to get a quick trade, but if enrichment stops, we cannot ensure that the US continues to commit to it.”
According to a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the location and timing of the sixth round consultation will be confirmed in the future.