UN sees US-Iran nuclear talks as 'good sign': Spokesman

United Nations, April 18 The United Nations views the second round of negotiations between the US and Iran on Saturday as "a good sign," and hopes it will yield positive results, a UN spokesman said.

The second round of US-Iran indirect negotiations will be held in Rome on Saturday, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The two sides will discuss Tehran's nuclear issues and Washington's sanctions, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We very much hope that the dialogue between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran yields a positive outcome, which we're seeing the lowering of tensions in the Gulf region, in the Middle East, and between the two countries," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said at a daily briefing.

"We understand that there will be a second round from what I've seen, I think this weekend, which in itself is a good sign," he said.

"We will obviously be following it very closely."

In early March, US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iranian leaders, proposing negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, while Iran later agreed on indirect talks.

The first round of US-Iran indirect talks was held in the Omani capital of Muscat last week.

The White House said in a statement that the discussions were "very positive and constructive".

Iranian Foreign Ministry described their talks as "constructive".

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said talks between Iran and the US are at a "crucial stage" and warned they have limited time to resolve their years-long standoff.

"There is a possibility of a good outcome but nothing is guaranteed," Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in comments recorded during a visit to Tehran on Thursday.

"We are multiplying our efforts to facilitate this process."

Grossi's visit comes days after the US and Iran held their first talks aimed at striking an agreement over Tehran's nuclear program.

The stakes for global security and the oil market are high. US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Iran if a deal isn't reached in the coming weeks.

Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, made a rare high-profile visit to Iran on Thursday and met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Prince Khalid delivered a message from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addressed to Khamenei, IRNA said, without giving details on its contents. He is the highest-level Saudi royal to visit Iran in years and his trip signals that Arab states are keen to avoid a new conflict in the region.

The IAEA's Grossi said he has been in contact with the US's top Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to see how the watchdog can "serve as a bridge between Iran and the US and help achieve a positive outcome," according to the IRNA.

While the US and Iran are set to meet for a second round of talks on Saturday in Rome, they’ve already hit a stumbling block over the Trump administration’s position on Tehran’s ability to enrich uranium.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said earlier this week that US has sent conflicting messages and these need to clarified when they meet again on Saturday.

Witkoff said on Tuesday that Iran had to eliminate its uranium-enrichment program all together, rather than restrict it. He was back tracking on earlier comments that suggested Iran could still enrich to a low level for civilian uses.

Iran has said its ability to produce the fissile material is non-negotiable and says it's allowed to enrich uranium under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The 2015 nuclear deal that Trump abandoned during his first term imposed strict limits on the extent to which Iran was allowed to enrich uranium, in terms of both purity and quantity.

Iran started to breach those caps after Trump exited the accord in 2018 and placed stricter sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

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