Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program appeared ready Monday to leave the Middle East, as an Italian source said the next round of negotiations would take place in Rome.
A source in the Italian government confirmed that the next round would take place in Rome on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The person's comments came as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani separately told journalists in Osaka, Japan, that the Italian government has given its OK to host the talks, Italian state broadcaster Rai reported.
Both Iranian and U.S. officials did not immediately acknowledge the venue of the second round of negotiations. However, it's likely that Oman, which hosted the first round of talks on Saturday in Muscat, would continue to mediate between the two sides.
“The next round of talks will probably be held somewhere other than Oman,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday in Tehran. “It's not an important matter.”
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers David Biller in Rome and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
