by Barak Ravid at Axios
A second round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran is expected to take place in Rome on Saturday, two sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios.
Why it matters: The Trump administration was satisfied with the first round of talks in Oman, which went according to plan and achieved their objective of shifting the format from indirect — handled through intermediaries — to direct, with officials conversing directly.
- The Trump administration wants that to be the format in Rome, a venue switch suggested by the U.S. side.
Behind the scenes: The two lead negotiators, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, spoke for around 45 minutes on Saturday — longer than was revealed publicly, a source with knowledge told Axios.
- The source described that conversation, the highest-level dialogue between U.S. and Iranian officials in eight years, as “substantive, serious and excellent.”
Yes, but: The talks clearly started with a sense of distrust. The Iranians raised the fact that President Trump withdrew from the previous Iran deal and expressed concern that the U.S. could walk away again, the two sources say…
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