Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in the Italian capital on Friday to participate in the fifth round of indirect negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The talks are being mediated by the Sultanate of Oman.
Araghchi has previously engaged in four such rounds—three in Muscat and one in Rome—conducted indirectly through Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi.
Accompanied by a high-level delegation of legal, political, banking, and financial experts, Araghchi departed Tehran early Friday. His delegation includes Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Deputy for Political Affairs; Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for Legal and International Affairs; Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei; along with senior diplomats and advisers.
The Rome talks are scheduled to begin at 1:00 PM local time.
Tehran Highlights Red Lines
US officials—including President Trump, Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and spokespeople for both the White House and State Department—have recently insisted that any agreement with Iran must include a complete halt to uranium enrichment.
Tehran has strongly rejected this position, which it considers a red line.
Iran’s central demand remains the effective and verifiable lifting of the illegal and unilateral US sanctions. Tehran maintains that uranium enrichment is its inalienable right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and insists on maintaining the full nuclear fuel cycle.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei criticized Washington’s latest moves, saying, “These sanctions—especially at this critical moment—further question the seriousness of the United States in pursuing a diplomatic path.”
The US’ “multilayered” sanctions against Iran must be considered “crimes against humanity,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei in an X post on Friday, referring to the US “extending…sanctions to the construction sector”
“On the eve of the fifth round of… pic.twitter.com/A1vPfpgitU
— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 23, 2025
He added that Rubio’s recent expansion of sanctions to cover Iran’s construction sector reflects “a new peak in hostile and unlawful US actions against the Iranian people.”
Iran Asserts Enrichment Rights
Just hours after the Iranian Parliament declared that uranium enrichment levels “cannot be capped below 20%” and must align with the country’s peaceful needs, Hasan Qashqavi, head of Parliament’s subcommittee on nuclear affairs, reaffirmed that uranium enrichment is a “sacred achievement bought with the blood of nuclear martyrs.”
Qashqavi reiterated in an interview with IRNA that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons but demands full and unconditional sanctions relief.
IRGC Warns of “Decisive Response” to Aggression
In a separate development, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Ali Mohammad Naeini stated that Iran has achieved “effective deterrence” and now possesses “potent offensive capabilities.” He warned that any attack on Iran would be met with a “resolute and forceful” response, asserting that the country’s military strength continues to grow daily.
Threats from the rogue Israeli regime are nothing new. But the recent leak citing US officials as divulging Israeli plans for an unlawful attack on Iran and its nuclear facilities is alarming and warrants immediate and serious condemnation from the UN Security Council and the…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 22, 2025
Reacting to reports of possible Israeli occupation’s action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Araghchi issued a stern warning to “Tel Aviv.” He called on the United Nations and the Security Council to take “immediate and effective action” against Israeli threats and repeated violations of the UN Charter.
He also urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to maintain neutrality and condemn Israel’s threats, emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear program remains peaceful and under IAEA supervision.
In a letter to the UN, Araghchi declared that Tehran would “firmly respond to any threat or illegal act” and would take “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens, interests, and facilities from any form of aggression or sabotage, in accordance with international law.
Source: Al-Manar Website
