Rome (TDI): Iran and the United States are holding a fifth round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program today in Rome, with enrichment emerging as the key issue.
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.”
Washington will be again represented in the negotiations by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director.
While authorities haven’t offered a location for the meeting, another round in Rome took place at the Omani Embassy.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi is mediating the talks as the country has been a trusted interlocutor by both parties in the talks.
Read More: Oman Hosts Crucial US-Iran Nuclear Talks
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.
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.
Read More: US Nears Nuclear Deal with Iran: Trump
“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.
