U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Rome restart, uranium enrichment seen as a crucial point

Iran and the US delegations will restart nuclear talks in Rome on Friday, marking a crucial point in the more than twenty-year-old geopolitical game. Although both sides have expressed a desire to resolve the dispute through diplomatic means, Iran insists on preserving its right to enrich uranium, creating a fundamental opposition to the US's "zero enrichment" demand, making the prospects for negotiations uncertain. Iran's chief negotiator and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi drew a line on social media before the talks, stating, "Zero nuclear weapons equals agreement, zero enrichment equals meaningless negotiations." This directly responds to the conditions set by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday - the US can accept Iran possessing civilian nuclear energy, but must completely abandon its uranium enrichment activities. The key disagreements focus on three main areas: Iran refuses to transfer all of its highly enriched uranium stockpile out of the country, rejects negotiating its ballistic missile program, and demands institutional guarantees from the US that it will not unilaterally withdraw from any agreement again. As an exchange, Iran has indicated it may accept some restrictions on uranium enrichment, but insists that lifting economic sanctions must be a condition. Although Iranian officials emphasize that the talks are of an "indirect nature," the US has revealed that the five rounds of negotiations, including the meeting in Oman on May 11, have been conducted in a "directly indirect and parallel" method. This delicate balance reflects the political considerations of both sides: Iran needs to maintain diplomatic flexibility through third parties like Oman, but finds it difficult to completely reject substantive contact with US special envoy Steve Vickers. Since restarting its "maximum pressure" policy on Iran in February 2025, the Trump administration has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions in an attempt to replicate the pressure effect seen after unilaterally withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. However, Iran's countermeasures have been more aggressive, with uranium enrichment surpassing the limits set in the 2015 agreement by several times, causing strong concerns from Israel. Reports of Israeli air strike plans and escalate the already tense situation in the region. The cost of a failed negotiation continues to accumulate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated after a phone call with Trump on Thursday, "Iran must be completely deprived of its uranium enrichment capabilities, or Israel will retain its right to self-defense." Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi warned that if Israel attacks nuclear facilities, the US will bear legal responsibility. This mutual deterrence situation poses a dangerous counterbalance to the diplomatic game at the negotiating table. Three Iranian sources revealed that the religious leadership has not yet formulated a "Plan B," highlighting their determined negotiation stance. As for the US, they must address the potential unilateral actions of Israel while also guarding against a qualitative change in Iran's nuclear program, with the window for diplomatic solutions rapidly closing. Trump himself has hinted that if the negotiations fail, military action may be taken, sparking international concerns about oil price spikes and regional conflicts. With the curtains opening on the Rome talks, this game that affects the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East is entering its final sprint. Whether there can be a convergence on core issues such as uranium enrichment limits, sanctions relief pace, and missile program control will determine whether this nuclear game spanning three US administrations will lead to military conflict or a return to the framework of the agreement.