The United States and Iran are set to meet in Rome on Friday for the fifth round of nuclear negotiations, as fundamental differences continue to stall progress on Tehran’s uranium enrichment programme.
The talks mark the highest-level diplomatic exchange between the two arch-rivals since Washington re-entered nuclear negotiations earlier this year, following President Donald Trump’s return to office in January 2025. The Trump administration has reinstated its "maximum pressure" campaign, combining economic sanctions with a revived threat of military action should diplomacy collapse.
Despite repeated rounds of negotiations since April, the fourth round concluded with a public disagreement over Iran’s right to enrich uranium. The US special envoy to the talks, Steve Witkoff, stated, “Washington could not authorise even one per cent” enrichment — a stance Iran denounced as unacceptable under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking ahead of today’s deliberations, said that while Tehran remained open to inspections, “fundamental differences” persisted with Washington. “We will not have an agreement at all,” Araghchi warned, “if the United States wants to prevent Iran from enriching uranium.”
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Political analyst Mohammad Marandi, who once served as an adviser on nuclear negotiations, underscored that, “It's quite simple; if the US expects Iran to halt nuclear enrichment, then there can't be a deal.”
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, defended Iran’s right to civilian nuclear enrichment. “The Netherlands, Belgium, South Korea, Brazil, and Japan enrich (uranium) without possessing nuclear weapons,” he said, noting Iran’s nuclear industry employed over 17,000 people.
Aslo read: US-Iran to hold fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome on Friday
Despite these assurances, recent remarks by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have raised concerns. Khamenei said Iran would have “no choice” but to develop nuclear weapons if attacked. His comments followed reports that Israel — a long-standing opponent of the JCPOA — may be preparing a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In a letter to the United Nations, Araghchi issued a warning, stating: “We believe that in the event of any attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Zionist regime, the US government will also be involved and bear legal responsibility.”
Such a move, Araghchi cautioned, would lead to “consequences — not only the end of Europe’s role in the agreement, but also an escalation of tensions that could become irreversible.”
The diplomatic stand-off continues to test the endurance of international efforts to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which the US unilaterally withdrew during Trump’s first term. Iran is demanding the lifting of decades-old sanctions, which have battered its economy since the 1980s, as a condition for any meaningful progress.
With both sides holding firm to their red lines, the path to a renewed agreement remains uncertain.
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