UN nuclear watchdog head says time running out to reach nuclear deal with Iran

This handout picture made available by the Iranian Atomic Organization (AEOI) office shows the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) being received by the head of the AEOI Mohammad Eslami (R) in Tehran on April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)
This handout picture made available by the Iranian Atomic Organization (AEOI) office shows the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (L) being received by the head of the AEOI Mohammad Eslami (R) in Tehran on April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)

TEHRAN, Iran — UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says that Iran and the United States were running out of time to secure a deal as they prepare to hold fresh nuclear talks this weekend.

Iranian and US delegations are to gather in Rome on Saturday for a second round of Omani-mediated negotiations, a week after the longtime foes held their highest-level talks since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord in 2018.

“We are in a very crucial stage of these important negotiations. We know we don’t have much time, this is why I am here … to facilitate this process,” Grossi says on a visit to Tehran.

“We are working hard and we want to succeed,” he tells a joint news conference with Iran’s atomic energy agency chief Mohammad Eslami, acknowledging that the search for a deal was “not an easy process.”

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