Muscat, May 2 (IANS) Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi has said that the fourth round of the Omani-mediated US-Iran talks scheduled for Saturday in Rome has been postponed for logistical reasons.
“New dates will be announced when mutually agreed,” Albusaidi said on Thursday on the social media platform X.
“For logistical reasons, we are rescheduling the US-Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday, May 3,” he wrote, adding that new dates will be announced when mutually agreed upon, Xinhua news agency reported.
Saturday’s talks were to take place in Rome, where the Vatican will soon begin the conclave to elect a new pope following the death of Pope Francis on Wednesday.
The talks aim to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting some of the economic sanctions imposed on Tehran by the US.
The original schedule was announced by Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear programme if a deal isn’t reached.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as “postponed at the request of Oman’s Foreign Minister”.
He said Iran remained committed to reaching “a fair and lasting agreement”.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran accused the US of “contradictory behaviour and provocative statements” after Washington imposed new oil-related sanctions and warned Tehran of consequences for supporting Yemen’s Houthis.
The Iranian statement came a day after the US sanctioned entities trading Iranian oil and petrochemicals.
Separately, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Iran of repercussions for backing the Houthis.
The Houthi rebels began attacking ships near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in late 2023 in retaliation for Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.
The first and third rounds of the talks, headed by Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, were held in the Omani capital Muscat on April 12 and April 26, and the second one in Rome on April 19.
Washington and Tehran have been conducting negotiations over the past month on a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in return for the lifting of financial sanctions.
–IANS
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