Trump taps Michael Anton to lead technical talks with Iran

The Trump administration tapped senior State Department official Michael Anton to lead technical talks with Iran as the United States continues discussions with Tehran over its expanding nuclear program. 

The administration tapped Anton, who is the State Department’s policy planning director, to lead the technical delegation in discussions with officials in Tehran this weekend, two U.S. officials confirmed to The Hill. 

Anton was in Rome on Saturday with President Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff for the second round of nuclear talks with Iran. A U.S. official said they made “very good” progress with their Tehran counterparts. 

During Trump’s first White House term, Anton served on the National Security Council. He later worked as a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute. 

The U.S. is getting closer to the two-month timeline Trump set for forging a new nuclear deal with Iran. 

Trump, who in his first term pulled out of the deal former President Obama negotiated, has signaled military strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites are on the table if negotiations go sideways. Iran is likely to shoot down a deal that would include eliminating its nuclear program entirely. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after the Saturday talks in Italy that both sides made progress on “principles and objectives” of a potential deal, adding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “is no longer good enough for us.” 

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said both sides seem committed to hammering out an agreement. 

“I think these are negotiations that are very, very serious. Are very, very serious,” Grossi told reporters Wednesday during his visit to Washington. “I don’t see any improvisation here, not at all.”

Grossi met with Witkoff in Rome before the second round of nuclear talks, The Hill reported Saturday. The two also met on Wednesday in Washington, a U.S. official confirmed to The Hill on Thursday. 

Washington is open to an agreement that would permit Iran to bring in enriched uranium fuel, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

The U.S.’s top diplomat also stressed the U.S. is “a long ways away from any sort of agreement with Iran.”

“We recognize it’s difficult and hard. Oftentimes, unfortunately, peace is,” Rubio said in an interview with The Free Press that was published Wednesday. “But we’re committed to achieving a peaceful outcome that’s acceptable to everyone. It may not be possible, we don’t know.”

Anton’s selection for the post was first reported by Politico. 

Updated at 3:37 p.m. EDT