Rome, the Month of Diplomacy
The United States and Iran: The Path to Dialogue Goes Through Rome
On Saturday, April 19, the second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran was held in Rome.
Italy is striving to play a crucial role as a bridge between the unpredictable Trump administration and Tehran.
There were announcements of changes and then announcements again, but it was finally confirmed definitively that the second round of negotiations would be held in Rome.
On Saturday, April 19, a new meeting between the United States and Iran on the nuclear issue was held in Rome, following the first round of indirect talks on April 12 in Muscat, Oman.
Reports had already been published in Italian and international media indicating that the meeting would be attended by the U.S. Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi.
According to sources from the Nova agency, Italy did not directly participate in these negotiations with its representatives, but Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani hosted the parties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building before or after the meeting.
Regardless of the details of the agenda, the truth is that for at least 72 hours, Italy is the main hub of some of the most significant geopolitical developments of the moment, from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s trip to Washington on Thursday to the U.S.-Iran meeting tomorrow, and from there to Friday’s meeting at the Palazzo Chigi with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.
A Path Full of Obstacles
The arrival of negotiations between Washington and Tehran in the Italian capital has been the result of a complex path.
According to a report published by the Amwaj news site, after the last indirect talks in Muscat, the Omani Foreign Ministry suggested that the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations be moved to Europe.
The reason for this suggestion was simultaneously simple and practical: saving time for U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff by avoiding a long journey of at least 17 hours to the Persian Gulf.
According to Iranian sources, Italy, along with two or three other options, was proposed as one of the suggested locations for the negotiations.
Then this proposal was accepted by both sides after Iran set a condition to avoid holding the meeting in the UK, France, and Germany, known as the E3 group, as these countries were sidelined from negotiations after Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025.
In other words, the Rome government may have the intention and ability to play a pivotal role in the nuclear negotiation process between Washington and Tehran, after Trump withdrew the United States from the comprehensive nuclear agreement JCPOA, which was signed during Barack Obama’s presidency in 2015.
Luca Giansanti, former Italian ambassador to Iran, believes that to resume negotiations, reviving at least a minimum level of mutual trust is essential, and yet negotiating with Trump is like facing a roller coaster track.
Is There a Risk of Escalating Tensions?
The second round of negotiations in Italy took place under conditions of significant uncertainty regarding the situation in the Middle East and the world.
On Thursday, the New York Times revealed that Israel had planned to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities next month, but Trump had asked Tel Aviv to halt this operation to create an opportunity for negotiating an agreement with Tehran to limit its nuclear program.
The New York Times writes that this decision was made by Trump after months of internal debate in the administration, deciding on the appropriate path between two possible options: pursuing diplomacy or supporting Israel in a direct attack to slow down Iran’s ability to build a bomb.
In this regard, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated in an interview with Le Monde, before his trip to Tehran, that the Islamic Republic is not far from building a nuclear weapon.
He added that it’s like a puzzle; they have the pieces and maybe one day they can put them together.
Hawk or Dove
The escalation of conflicts, which began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s attack on Israel, has significantly reduced Iran’s deterrence power, which was based on supporting militia groups, political groups, and Tehran-supporting governments in the region.
Experts explain that with the weakening of this security network, it cannot be ruled out that the Islamic Republic might attempt to regain its lost deterrence through its nuclear program.
We could have expected that 2025 would be a year of returning to dialogue with America for various reasons.
However, in both Tehran and Washington, a direct battle is underway between supporters of diplomacy and extremists.
According to a report by the Axios news site, the U.S. national security team is divided over the approach to Iran.
The discussion group was composed of Vice President J.D. Vance, who traveled to Rome a few hours before the round of negotiations, Special Envoy Witkoff, and also Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth.
According to sources, the president’s men are particularly concerned that the possibility of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities could expose U.S. military forces in the region to retaliation.
However, the nuclear issue is also a symbolic element that represents, with its ups and downs, the tense relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, which has remained tense since the 1979 revolution and the hostage crisis.
Finally, with the end of the second negotiation session between Iran and the U.S., the Omani government, which mediates these talks, announced that the U.S. and Iran agreed to enter the next stage, and the negotiations will continue at the expert level in Muscat in the coming days.
The Omani Foreign Minister, who is mediating these talks, says the negotiations have accelerated.
Iran’s Foreign Minister also described the atmosphere of the talks as constructive and said the negotiations are moving forward.
On the evening after the negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in English on the social network X that in the second negotiation session, he explained to the American team that for many in Iran, the JCPOA is no longer good enough, and what remains of the JCPOA are the lessons learned.
I agree with this view. He summarized today’s negotiation by writing that optimism may be justified at present, but only with great caution.
The Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in a statement that Abbas Araghchi and Steve Witkoff agreed to enter the next phase of negotiations, aimed at achieving a fair, sustainable, and binding agreement that will ensure Iran remains completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions are lifted while maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy. Badr Al-Busaidi, Oman’s Foreign Minister, reposted this statement on the X network, thanking Mr. Witkoff and Araghchi for their positive approach in the negotiations and wrote that the negotiations have accelerated and one can even expect an unexpected event.