By JON GAMBRELL and GIADA ZAMPANO, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Iran and the United States prepared for a fifth round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program Friday in Rome, with enrichment emerging as the key issue.

U.S. officials up to President Donald Trump insist Iran cannot continue to enrich uranium at all in any deal that could see sanctions lifted on Tehran’s struggling economy. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi early Friday insisted online that no enrichment would mean “we do NOT have a deal.”

“Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science,” Araghchi wrote on the social platform X. “Time to decide.”

The U.S. will be again represented in the talks by Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director. Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi is mediating the negotiations as the sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula has been a trusted interlocutor by both Tehran and Washington in the talks.

A car carrying Araghchi arrived at the Omani Embassy in Rome’s Camilluccia neighborhood around 12:30 p.m. Witkoff had yet to be seen, but the embassy previously served as the site of another round of talks.

Enrichment remains key in negotiations

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic, closing in on half a century of enmity.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

FILE – This combo of pictures show President Donald Trump, left, addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025, and a handout of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attending a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis – Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

“Iran almost certainly is not producing nuclear weapons, but Iran has undertaken activities in recent years that better position it to produce them, if it chooses to do so,” a new report from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said. “These actions reduce the time required to produce sufficient weapons-grade uranium for a first nuclear device to probably less than one week.”

However, it likely still would take Iran months to make a working bomb, experts say.

Enrichment remains the key point of contention. Witkoff at one point suggested Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later began saying all Iranian enrichment must stop. That position on the American side has hardened over time.

Asked about the negotiations, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said “we believe that we are going to succeed” in the talks and on Washington’s push for no enrichment.

“The Iranians are at that table, so they also understand what our position is, and they continue to go,” Bruce said Thursday.

One idea floated so far that might allow Iran to stop enrichment in the Islamic Republic but maintain a supply of uranium could be a consortium in the Mideast backed by regional countries and the U.S. There also are multiple countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency offering low-enriched uranium that can be used for peaceful purposes by countries.

However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has maintained enrichment must continue within the country’s borders and a similar fuel-swap proposal failed to gain traction in negotiations in 2010.

Meanwhile, Israel has threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities on their own if it feels threatened, further complicating tensions in the Mideast already spiked by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Araghchi warned Thursday that Iran would take “special measures” to defend its nuclear facilities if Israel continues to threaten them, while also warning the U.S. it would view it as being complicit in any Israeli attack. Authorities allowed a group of Iranian students to form a human chain Thursday at its underground enrichment site at Fordo, an area with incredibly tight security built into a mountain to defend against possible airstrikes.

Talks come as US pressure on Iran increases

Yet despite the tough talk from Iran, the Islamic Republic needs a deal. Its internal politics are inflamed over the mandatory hijab, or headscarf, with women still ignoring the law on the streets of Tehran. Rumors also persist over the government potentially increasing the cost of subsidized gasoline in the country, which has sparked nationwide protests in the past.

Related Articles

Tax bill passed by House Republicans would gut Biden-era clean energy tax credits

A look at the deportees on plane that headed for South Sudan from US

Supreme Court declines to reinstate independent agency board members fired by President Donald Trump

Work requirements could transform Medicaid and food aid under US budget bill

Trump’s $600 million war chest: How he plans to wield his power in the midterms and beyond

Iran’s rial currency plunged to over 1 million to a U.S. dollar in April. The currency has improved with the talks, however, something Tehran hopes will continue as a further collapse in the rial could spark further economic unrest.

Meanwhile, its self-described “Axis of Resistance” sits in tatters after Iran’s regional allies in the region have faced repeated attacks by Israel during its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government during a rebel advance in December also stripped Iran of a key ally.

The Trump administration also has continued to levy new sanctions on Iran, including this week, which saw the U.S. specifically target any sale of sodium perchlorate to the Islamic Republic. Iran reportedly received that chemical in shipments from China at its Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas. A major, unexplained explosion there killed dozens and wounded over 1,000 others in April during one round of the talks.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

By SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIROVA, Associated Press

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — An exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine from their more than three-year war was underway Friday, a senior Ukrainian official said.

The swap was not yet finished, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Moscow did not immediately confirm the exchange was underway.

Related Articles

Today in History: May 23, outlaws Bonnie and Clyde killed in police ambush

What to know about the tensions between Iran and the US before their fifth round of nuclear talks

No new direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks are scheduled, Kremlin says

US tariff hikes, Myanmar war and sea disputes will top ASEAN summit agenda

Pope Leo XIV makes first U.S. bishop appointment, fills San Diego vacancy

Ukraine and Russia agreed to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side a week ago in Turkey in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of its neighbor. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in international diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

The Ukrainian comment Friday came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange of prisoners.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would “go into effect shortly,” although it was not clear what that meant.

“This could lead to something big???” Trump added in his post, apparently referring to international diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

White House and National Security Council officials did not immediately respond to requests for further details.

Following last week’s talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a “confidence-building measure” and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.

But the meeting revealed they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington.

After a Game 2 drubbing in which they were out-physicaled and thoroughly out-played in a loss that put them behind 2-0 in the series, players couldn’t help but hint at some frustration toward the other team’s defensive aggression.

“They’re hacking.”

No, those exact words weren’t spoken by any Timberwolves player or coach Chris Finch following Minnesota’s loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday.

That was Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon in the aftermath of Minnesota’s 106-80 victory in Game 2 of the 2024 Western Conference semifinals.

It was a night in which the Nuggets became consumed by their frustration with the officiating and what they felt the Wolves defense was getting away with. Then Denver coach Michael Malone went nose to nose in a yelling match with referee Marc Davis. Jamal Murray threw a heat pack onto the court. The Nuggets came unglued.

Murray left the locker room without speaking to reporters that evening, much like Anthony Edwards did Thursday in Oklahoma City.

Suddenly, the defending champs were heading to Minneapolis with the possibility of getting swept out of the playoffs squarely in play. Frankly, that was the assumed result at that point. The Nuggets were getting punked. It was a realization Gordon seemed to strike by the end of his post-Game 2 comments.

“I feel like we’re getting pushed off our spots; they were grabbing and holding, and we were looking for the officials,” he said. “We weren’t doing anything about it.”

Rather than praying for a life preserver from the referees, Denver decided to fight back. The Nuggets upped their physicality to match and even exceed Minnesota’s. Denver committed 25 fouls in a Game 3 trouncing of the Timberwolves as they bogged down Minnesota’s offense with its tenacity at Target Center.

The Nuggets won three straight games to take a series lead before eventually running out of gas and falling to the Wolves in seven games.

But at least the champs went out on their swords.

Minnesota finds itself on the other side of the coin versus the position it was in a year ago. The Wolves are now down 2-0 after consecutive blowout losses at the hands of Oklahoma City. They’re the ones who feel as though their opponent is getting too loose of a defensive whistle.

“I mean, they’re just handsy, man,” Wolves forward Julius Randle said Thursday. “There’s a lot of swipes, all that different type of stuff.”

“They’re very handsy, and there’s a lot of things that are not going to get called,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said between Games 1 and 2. “They are relentless. We knew that. We know that they’re grabbing, fouling, but we know that we’re not going to get all those calls.”

Waiting for the whistles isn’t a winning strategy. Oklahoma City has been the aggressor through two games. If that doesn’t change in the Twin Cities, these West Finals will be over sooner than later.

For the better part of the past two seasons, Minnesota has been the big, fast, strong team that wears opponents down with its physicality and tenacity. But through two games, the Wolves have met their match in Oklahoma City. And rather than the matchup producing a high-stakes showdown of two teams out for blood, the Wolves have too frequently cowered into the corner.

They would likely maintain that they haven’t been allowed to play a physical brand of defense because of the whistle afforded to newly-crowned MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But the reality is those at times questionable foul calls aren’t coming on plays where Minnesota is out harassing the Thunder’s star guard on the perimeter.

Because that scenario has not played out.

Gilgeous-Alexander is getting where he wants to go on the floor and bringing the contact to Minnesota’s defenders.

As is often the case in basketball, to the aggressor goes the call.

Throughout his tenure, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has frequently mentioned the need for his team to maintain a “hit-first mentality” on the court. In this series, it’s looked more like, “Get hit, and immediately look at the official.”

That’s a great formula if your goal is to go on vacation. That’s simply not who Minnesota has been for the past few years.

It’s why it’s difficult to imagine the Wolves going out this tamely. But that’s what will happen if change isn’t made ahead of Saturday’s Game 3 at Target Center.

They need to be the ones setting the tone. They need to be physical, to deliver the hits, to dictate the terms of the game.

They need to be themselves.

Or, more apt to this situation, they need to be last year’s Nuggets. They have two options: Show some championship-caliber fight, or risk finding themselves watching the Thunder hoist a trophy on the Target Center floor, much like they did with Dallas in this very round last season.

“It will be a huge disappointment,” Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker said, “if we don’t bring that competitiveness to try to win.”

Related Articles

Timberwolves blitzed again in third quarter to fall down 2-0 in West Finals

Jace Frederick: Will Anthony Edwards pull back if NBA fines continue?

Now the Timberwolves understand the challenge that is the Thunder

The Timberwolves attempted 51 3-pointers in Game 1. Can they win that way?

Oklahoma City takes it to Timberwolves for Game 1 win

Today is Friday, May 23, the 143rd day of 2025. There are 222 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were shot to death during a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Also on this date:

In 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, aligning with the Triple Entente of Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

Related Articles

Microsoft fires employee who interrupted CEO’s speech to protest AI tech for Israeli military

Billion dollar pizza? Bitcoin soars on key anniversary of crypto’s growth

Weight-loss drugs may lower cancer risk in people with diabetes, a study suggests

The Memorial Day travel rush is off to an early start

Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students

In 1945, Nazi official Heinrich Himmler killed himself while in British custody in Lüneburg, Germany.

In 1984, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report saying there was “very solid” evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers.

In 2013, the Boy Scouts of America announced it would remove membership restrictions based on sexual orientation, while maintaining a ban on openly gay Scout leaders. (The ban on gay Scout leaders and organization employees was lifted two years later.)

In 2015, supporters of marriage equality in Ireland celebrated as referendum results showed a constitutional amendment in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage passing by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

In 2018, NFL owners approved a new policy allowing players to protest during the national anthem by staying in the locker room but forbidding players from sitting or taking a knee if they’re on the field.

In 2021, a cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of northern Italy’s Lake Maggiore plummeted to the ground when a cable snapped, killing 14 people.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor Joan Collins is 92.
Tennis Hall of Famer John Newcombe is 81.
Chess grand master Anatoly Karpov is 74.
Comedian-TV host Drew Carey is 67.
Comedian-actor Lea DeLaria is 67.
Author Mitch Albom is 67.
Actor Melissa McBride is 60.
Singer-songwriter Maxwell is 52.
“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings is 51.
Singer-songwriter Jewel is 51.
Filmmaker Ryan Coogler is 39.
Singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz (juh-ROHZ’) is 34.