Hello, and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London.
I'm James Kamarasami.
And we begin today in Rome,
where a second round of talks between Iran and the United States is underway following last week's initial indirect discussions in Oman,
which were described as constructive.
Once again,
the Omanis are acting as intermediaries between delegations led by Iran's foreign minister Abbas Arakshi and Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff,
a man who seems to be negotiating everything, everywhere, almost all at once.
Tirana said it is open to limiting its nuclear program as long as Washington is realistic.
Foreign minister Arakshi was speaking after a meeting in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Although we have serious doubts about the intentions and motivations of the American side,
in any case,
we will participate in tomorrow's negotiations with the seriousness of the Islamic Republic of Iran and full determination.
We are fully prepared to pursue a peaceful resolution for Iran's peaceful nuclear program.
If there is similar willingness on the other side,
and they refrain from making unreasonable and unrealistic demands,
I believe reaching an agreement is likely.
Although there have been conflicting messages about what the Trump administration is prepared to accept,
but also speaking on Friday, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized its bottom line.
While Israel is thought to be rather less convinced