Rome (TDI): Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that a fifth round of negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program has concluded in Rome.
He made the remarks on the messaging app Telegram, posting a picture of him talking with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks.
There was no immediate acknowledgment from the US side. Tehran said that US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff left early to catch a flight while others stayed behind for technical discussions, according to AP.
US officials insist Tehran cannot continue to enrich uranium at all in any agreement that could see sanctions lifted on Iran’s struggling economy.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has insisted that no enrichment would mean “we do not have a deal.”
Figuring out the path to an agreement is not rocket science, Araghchi said in a statement, adding “Time to decide.”
Read More: IAEA Director General on Iran Nuclear Programme
The negotiations seek to limit Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the ending of some of the crippling economic sanctions Washington has imposed on the country, closing in on half a century of hostility.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch airstrikes targeting Tehran’s nuclear program if an agreement isn’t reached.
Iranian officials increasingly caution they could pursue a nuclear bomb with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Read More: Oman Hosts Crucial US-Iran Nuclear Talks
A new report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency noted that Iran almost certainly is not producing nuclear bombs, but it has undertaken activities recently that better position it to produce them, if it chooses to do so.
“These actions reduce the time needed to produce sufficient weapons-grade uranium for a first nuclear device to probably less than one week.”
However, it still would take Tehran months to make a working bomb, as it is a lengthy and complicate process, according to experts.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
