The second round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Saturday will be held in Rome, three sources told Axios correspondent Barak Ravid on Wednesday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry had said on Tuesday that Muscat would host the talks due to logistical reasons, following earlier reports naming Rome as the venue.
Former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei said on Wednesday that shifting and inconsistent statements from US President Donald Trump and his envoy Steve Witkoff reflect internal confusion and a lack of coherence in Washington’s approach to nuclear talks with Iran.
“The conflicting remarks by Trump and his representative, and their maneuvering around Iran’s red lines, show confusion and a lack of internal coherence in Trump’s government,” Rezaei wrote on X.
He added that such statements revive and reinforce Iranian mistrust stemming from the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said any agreement between Iran and the United States will require the agency’s involvement to be credible, Le Monde reported on Wednesday.
“Without us, any agreement is just a piece of paper,” Grossi said in an interview ahead of his visit to Tehran, where he is expected to meet Iranian officials amid renewed nuclear diplomacy.
Grossi confirmed that while the IAEA is not directly involved in the recent talks between Tehran and Washington, informal consultations have begun. He emphasized that the agency would need to assess any final deal and determine verification measures.
“There needs to be a robust verification and monitoring system that only we can provide,” he said.
