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Iranwire – Iran has announced that the second round of its negotiations with the United States will take place in Muscat, contradicting earlier reports that the talks would be held in Rome.
“It has been agreed that Muscat will continue to host the second round of negotiations, which will be held on Saturday, April 19,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.
He denied both Iranian and Italian announcements that the talks were due to be held elsewhere.
The announcement came just two hours after Iran’s foreign minister told Arab counterparts that the talks would be held in Europe.
Italy’s foreign ministry had previously confirmed on Monday that it would host the negotiations on Saturday.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed that Italy has approved hosting the negotiations.
“We received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator, and we gave a positive response,” Tajani said in Osaka, Japan. “We are ready to welcome meetings that can bring positive results on the nuclear issue.”
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp also confirmed Rome as the location while speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg.
The talks come as President Donald Trump has threatened airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities if negotiations fail, while Iranian officials have warned they might pursue nuclear weapons with their near weapons-grade uranium stockpile.
The UN nuclear watchdog chief will visit Iran later this week, possibly to discuss improved inspector access to Tehran’s program, according to the Associated Press.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told journalists in Tehran: “The next round of talks will probably be held somewhere other than Oman. It’s not an important matter.”
Oman, which hosted the first round of talks Saturday in Muscat, is expected to continue mediating between the two countries.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi agreed to continue nuclear negotiations following initial discussions in Oman on Saturday.
