The talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program had appeared ready Monday to leave the Middle East, as an Italian source and others said the next round of negotiations would take place in Rome. However, Iran early Tuesday insisted they'd again be held in Oman. It wasn't immediately clear where the negotiations would be held after Tehran's overnight announcement. American officials have not said where the talks would be held. President Donald Trump separately complained Monday about the pace of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran as the two countries start a new round of pivotal negotiations. “I think they're tapping us along,” he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador's president. The next meeting had been expected to take place on Saturday in Rome, according to a source in the Italian government who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also signalled the talks would take place there. “We received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator and we gave a positive response,” Tajani told reporters during a trip to Osaka, Japan. “We are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue.” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg, also said the coming talks would be in Rome. U.S. and Iranian officials have not confirmed the change in venue. And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said the talks would happen in Rome while speaking to his Iraqi counterpart on Monday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
Then early Tuesday, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying the talks would be back in Oman, without elaborating on the reason. Easter Sunday will be this coming weekend, a major holiday in Rome, which surrounds Vatican City, the home of the Roman Catholic church. The first round of talks over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program took place over the past weekend in Oman. The stakes of the negotiations couldn't be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program if a deal isn't reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. Speaking of Iran, Trump said “I want them to be a rich, great nation.” However, he said “these are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon."
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog separately confirmed he would be taking a trip to Iran later in the week, possibly to discuss ways to improve access for his inspectors to Tehran's program. The talks will follow a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iran later this week. The IAEA played a key role in verifying Iran's compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and has continued to work in the Islamic Republic, even as the country's theocracy slowly peeled away its access after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018. “Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” Grossi wrote on X. Grossi will arrive in Iran on Wednesday night and will meet with Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, quoting Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister.