Iran and the United States are set to resume nuclear talks in Rome amid rising tensions, hard-line demands, and Israeli threats of military action. With uranium enrichment at the core of the standoff,

Iran and the U.S. have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since, with relations peaking when Tehran made the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, sparking tensions in the Mideast that persist today.

Iran’s top diplomat has warned that his country would take “special measures” to defend its nuclear facilities if Israel continues to threaten them, raising the stakes further ahead of a new round of

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Rome on Friday for a new round of talks with an Iranian delegation over Tehran's nuclear program, a source briefed on the matter said on Thursday.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei slamm ed U.S. demands that Tehran end its uranium enrichment program, stating that he does not believe ongoing nuclear negotiations with the U.S. will yield results. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes and that its enrichment program is a source of national pride and not negotiable.

Iran’s top diplomat is insisting that Tehran will never stop enriching uranium, further underlining the Islamic Republic’s red line in negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed doubt about his country's nuclear negotiations with the United States, saying he does not think the talks will come to a result, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.