President Donald Trump complained Monday about the pace of nuclear talks between the United States and Iran.
This comes as the two countries start a new round of pivotal negotiations.
“I think they’re tapping us along,” he said in the Oval Office during a meeting with El Salvador’s president.
The next meeting is expected to take place on Saturday in Rome, according to a source in the Italian government.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
While Iran did not specifically acknowledge the plans, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the talks would happen in Rome.
He said this while speaking to his Iraqi counterpart on Monday, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency.
Speaking of Iran, Trump said “I want them to be a rich, great nation.”
However, he said “these are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
The first round of talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program took place over the weekend in Oman.
Despite the change in venue for the second round, it’s likely that Oman would continue to mediate the negotiations.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters during a trip to Osaka, Japan:
“We received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator and we gave a positive response.”
“We are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue.”
Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog separately confirmed he would be taking a trip to Iran later in the week.
Analyst suspect it would possibly to discuss ways to improve access for his inspectors to Tehran’s program.
The stakes of the negotiations could not be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity.
Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached.
Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg, also said the coming talks would be in Rome.
U.S. and Iranian officials have not confirmed the change in venue.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday in Tehran:
“The next round of talks will probably be held somewhere other than Oman. “
“It’s not an important matter.”
IAEA chief to head to Iran ahead of talks
The talks will follow a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iran later this week.
The IAEA played a key role in verifying Iran’s compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
It has continued to work in the Islamic Republic, even as the country’s theocracy slowly peeled away its access.
This was after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018.
“Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” Grossi wrote on X.
Grossi will arrive in Iran on Wednesday night.
He will meet with Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, quoting Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister.