UN nuclear watchdog's chief invited to Iran-US talks in Rome - Reuters

An American lawmaker has called on the Trump administration to reject any agreement with Iran that would allow Tehran to maintain their nuclear and missile programs.

Congressman Mike Lawler, the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee's Mideast Subcommittee, said in a post on X he had sent a letter to chief US negotiator Steve Witkoff "urging him to reject a nuclear agreement with Iran that does not completely dismantle their nuclear and missile programs, and eases sanctions on Iran or its enablers."

"Anything less would be appeasement and a betrayal of US national security interests and the security of our partners in the region, including Israel and Saudi Arabia," Lawler said in his letter.

"The venue for the second round of talks is Rome. Wherever the venue for the talks is, Oman is the mediator and intermediary," Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi told state TV in an interview.

"The reason for changing the venue for the talks was the request of the other side, and we were not sensitive about it," he added, after the first talks were held in Omani capital Muscat.

Gharibabadi appeared to reject the White House's demand yesterday that Iran terminate its nuclear program entirely, saying: "The shutdown of Iran’s enrichment or nuclear industry is not even up for discussion."

"The first round was aimed at assessing whether both sides are serious about reaching an agreement. If the frameworks are agreed upon, the drafting process will begin. Agreement on frameworks is difficult but not impossible—it depends on the other side."

He said the two sides "didn’t address key points in the first round of negotiations, which is why it lasted less than three hours."

"The second round of negotiations will focus on the frameworks of the issues," Gharibabadi continued. "We told the other side we are not looking to waste time."

"If the other side enters the second round like they did in Muscat, reaching an agreement won’t take long; but for now, it’s too soon to judge," adding that it was too soon to include the UN nuclear watchdog in talks.

IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi described his meeting with Abbas Araghchi as “important” and said, "Cooperation with @IAEAorg is indispensable to provide credible assurances about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program at a time when diplomacy is urgently needed."

Their meeting comes three days before the second round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

"Iran is desperate to remain sort of a key player on the world stage, and sees that nuclear is the only way to do that," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of the UK's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment.

"However, they're also, I'm sure, well aware of the ability of the Americans and potentially the Israelis to stop their nuclear program," he told the BBC in an interview on Wednesday.

Trump's push for a deal "might well be successful," he added. "But of course, one would hope that a treaty and negotiation is the best way to reduce the threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon, rather than ... further conflict in the region."

Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks with Iranian officials ahead of a second round of negotiations between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media reports.

Grossi met Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and deputy nuclear chief Behrouz Kamalvandi.