UN nuclear watchdog says US-Iran talks at a 'very crucial' stage

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program are “in a very crucial” stage, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Thursday while on a visit to the Islamic Republic.

The comments by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Tehran included an acknowledgment his agency likely would be key in verifying compliance by Iran should a deal be reached. Iran and the U.S. will meet again Saturday in Rome for a new round of talks after last weekend's first meeting in Oman.

Grossi's visit also coincided with Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, visiting Tehran as the highest-ranking official from the kingdom to visit Iran since the two countries reached a Chinese-mediated détente in 2023. That's as Saudi Arabia tries to end its decadelong war against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen — even as a new, intense campaign of U.S. airstrikes targets them.

The stakes of the negotiations Saturday and the wider geopolitical tensions in the Mideast couldn't be higher, particularly as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in the Gaza Strip. U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

“I’m not in a rush to do it because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death — and I'd like to see that, that's my first option,” Trump said when asked about a possible attack while meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office.

Grossi arrived in Iran on Wednesday night and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who now is in Moscow for separate talks likely over the negotiations. On Thursday, Grossi met with Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, then later toured a hall featuring some of Iran's civilian nuclear projects.

“We know that we are in a very crucial, I would say, stage of this important negotiation, so I want to concentrate on the positive,” Grossi told Iranian media. “There is a possibility of a good outcome. Nothing is guaranteed. We need to make sure that we put all of the elements in place ... in order to get to this agreement."

He added: “We know we don't have much time. So this is why I'm here. This is why I'm in contact with the United States as well.”

Asked about Trump's threats to attack Iran, Grossi urged people to “concentrate on our objective.”

“Once we get to our objective, all of these things will evaporate because there will be no reason for concern,” he said.

For his part, Eslami said Iran expected the IAEA to “maintain impartiality and act professionally,” a report from the state-run IRNA news agency said.

Since the nuclear deal’s collapse in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the U.S. from the accord, Iran has abandoned all limits on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons, something the West and the IAEA have been worried about for years since Tehran abandoned an organized weapons program in 2003.

Despite tensions between Iran and the agency, its access has not been entirely revoked. But Grossi acknowledged in a French newspaper interview that “Iran has enough material to build not one but several bombs.”

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle; they’ve got the pieces and one day they might be able to put them together,” he told Le Monde. “There’s still a long way to go before that happens. But they’re not far off, admittedly.”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric called the upcoming Iran-U.S. talks this weekend “a good sign.”

“We very much hope that the dialogue between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran yields a positive outcome which will see the lowering of tensions in the Gulf region, in the Middle East and between the two countries," he said.

Prince Khalid bin Salman, the son of King Salman and the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, arrived in Tehran on Thursday. Iran’s joint chief of staff, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, greeted the prince on his arrival and an honor guard played for the two men.

Prince Khalid, a fighter pilot, has become the first Saudi defense minister to visit Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He's also the highest-ranking Saudi royal to visit in decades. The last was King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who did so as crown prince in 1997 for an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting held in Tehran.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency, announcing the prince's arrival, said his trip would include “a number of meetings to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of common interest,” without elaborating.

The visit is significant, particularly given the decades of enmity between the two countries. Saudi Arabia has been for years trying to get a peace deal agreed to with the Houthis. A de facto ceasefire broadly has halted hostilities in the war, though the Houthis increasingly have threatened both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates amid the U.S. airstrikes.

Prince Khalid met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as President Masoud Pezeshkian on his trip.

“It is much better for brothers in the region to cooperate and support each other than to rely on outsiders,” Khamenei said, according to state media.

Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Associated Press writers Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, left, speaks with President Masoud Pezeshkian during their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, meets with Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, speaks with Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman during their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian, right, shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the start of their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, listens to Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, center, as Chief of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri attends their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, listens to Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, left, presents the message of the Saudi Arabia's king to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

This image released by the public relations of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, second left, reviews an honor guard as he is accompanied by Chief of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, left, during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. ( Public relations of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces via AP)

This image released by the public relations of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, left, and Chief of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri listen to their countries national anthem during a welcoming ceremony for Prince Khalid bin Salman, in Tehran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Public relation of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces via AP)

This image released by the public relation of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, right, is welcomed by Chief of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri during a welcoming ceremony in Tehran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Public relation of the General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces via AP)

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, listens to head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami as he visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, listens to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)

In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, shakes hands with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi prior to their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)

In this photo, released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, front center, arrives at Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran via AP)

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, left, shakes hands with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, at the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran via AP)

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, rear center, and his delegation attend a meeting with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, foreground right, and his delegation in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran via AP)

In this photo, released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, attends a meeting with head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran via AP)

In this photo released by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi attends a meeting with the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran via AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Josh Allen took a pounding, doled out punishment and delivered Buffalo its first road playoff victory in more than three decades, 27-24 over Jacksonville in the AFC's wild-card opener Sunday.

With linebacker Devin Lloyd bearing down on him, Allen found Brandin Cooks for 36 yards just before the two-minute warning and then capped the go-ahead drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in which Jacksonville let him score.

On the play before his score, Allen gained 10 yards on a sneak, refusing to go down while being pushed and pulled to the goal line.

“Just trusting everybody on the field,” Allen said. "Great win, great team win. All we’ve got to do is play our game, find a way to win a football game. We’re on to the next.”

Buffalo will play at Denver or New England next week, a chance to build a road winning streak after a decades-long skid.

“We got to go do it again. We got to go do it again," Allen said.

Focused on getting rid of the ball quickly and negating Jacksonville’s pass rush most of the game, Allen completed 28 of 35 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown. He ran for two scores, was sacked just once and played turnover-free football. Khalil Shakir caught 12 passes for 82 yards for the Bills.

It was necessary considering NFL rushing leader James Cook was mostly bottled up, finishing with 46 yards on 15 carries.

“You know, we’re going to play for each other, we’re gonna fight to the very last second, and you saw that here today,” Allen said.

Buffalo (13-5) intercepted a deflected pass on Jacksonville’s final drive to seal the victory.

The Bills had been 0-5 on the road in the playoffs under coach Sean McDermott, starting with a 10-3 loss at Jacksonville in the 2017 wild-card round. The Bills had dropped eight consecutive postseason games on the road since winning at Miami in the 1992 AFC championship game. It had been the NFL’s second-longest, active road playoff skid.

The Jaguars (13-5) took the lead with 4:03 to play on Trevor Lawrence’s third TD pass of the game, but they couldn’t hold it against the NFL’s reigning MVP.

Lawrence completed 18 of 30 passes for 207 yards, with TD throws to Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington and Travis Etienne. Washington finished with seven catches for 107 yards.

Coach Liam Coen surely will get questioned for not running the ball more against one of the league’s most porous run defenses.

Etienne and rookie Bhayshul Tuten combined for 118 yards on just 14 carries.

Allen, meanwhile, showed his toughness. He twice ended up in the medical tent in the first half but didn’t miss a snap. He got hammered in the head twice during one play, with Josh Hines-Allen landing on the side of his helmet right after teammate Travon Walker tackled him to the ground. His left ear appeared to be bleeding, but he got checked out and returned.

Allen later slammed his right hand into the helmet of right guard O’Cyrus Torrence after releasing the ball. And he completed the injury trifecta when his left leg got bent awkwardly on his 2-yard TD run.

Allen stayed on the ground following that last hit from Hines-Allen and gingerly walked to the sideline and back into the tent. But, as usual, the 6-foot-5, 237-pounder powered through and was back on the field making plays.

The Jaguars had a chance to tie the game at the end of the first half, but Cam Little was wide left on a 54-yarder. The miss ended a streak of 20 consecutive field goals made for the second-year pro from Arkansas.

Little kicked the two longest field goals in NFL history this season — a 68-yarder at Las Vegas and a 67-yarder last week against Tennessee.

He got a chance after the Bills were flagged for being offside following a 34-yard completion that got Little into range.

Bills S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) was ruled out to start the third quarter, a huge loss for an already banged-up secondary. It left the Bills to play with rookie Jordan Hancock and second-year Cole Bishop. WR Gabe Davis, who played for Jacksonville last season, injured his left knee in the fourth and was carted to the locker room and ruled out. WR Tyrell Shavers injured his left knee during a punt return but returned in the second half.

Jaguars RG Patrick Mekari (back) left in the third. LG Ezra Cleveland also was banged up and alternating plays with rookie Wyatt Milum. WR Parker Washington was evaluated for a concussion in the first half and cleared to return.

The Bills will play at Denver or New England next weekend.

The Jaguars will turn their attention toward improving a roster that lacked enough difference-makers on both sides of the ball.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Buffalo Bills' Ray Davis, bottom right, fumbles a kickoff return from the Jacksonville Jaguars as teammate Baylon Spector (54) and Jacksonville Jaguars' Devin Lloyd (0) try to recover the ball during the first half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is tackled by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets up after collecting a first down near the Jacksonville Jaguars end zone later in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) pushes in for a first down as Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead (91) tries to stop him during the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)