Tehran [Iran], May 2: A fourth round of talks between Washington and Tehran on Iran's nuclear programme is to be postponed "for logistical reasons," Badr Al Busaidi, the foreign minister of Oman who is acting as mediator, said on Thursday.
The talks between US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been scheduled to take place in Rome on Saturday. Al Busaidi said in a post on X that a new date would be announced once the parties had agreed on one.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department imposed fresh sanctions on a number of companies in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Iran, accusing them of engaging in the trade of Iranian petrochemicals to third countries and helping Iran evade sanctions.
The State Department also accused Tehran of continuing "to fuel conflict in the Middle East, advance its nuclear program, and support its terrorist partners and proxies."
The US was acting to stem revenue flows used to fund these destabilizing activities, it said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei condemned the new sanctions and threatened consequences, according to state news agency IRNA. It was not immediately clear whether the new sanctions were behind the postponement.
Iran Nuances, a news website seen as close to the government in Tehran, reported that "Iran is growing increasingly sceptical about the United States' seriousness and integrity in ongoing nuclear negotiations."(DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune
