DUBAI (Reuters) -A fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is likely to take place over the weekend in the capital of Oman, with Iranian state media pointing to May 11 as a probable date. Iran’s Nournews outlet was the first to report the resumption of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks for Sunday, […]
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Next round of Iran-US nuclear talks likely to be in Oman at weekend
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DUBAI (Reuters) -A fourth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States is likely to take place over the weekend in the capital of Oman, with Iranian state media pointing to May 11 as a probable date.
Iran’s Nournews outlet was the first to report the resumption of Iran-U.S. nuclear talks for Sunday, citing an unnamed official.
Cautioning that the timing was not yet finalised, an Iranian source close to the negotiating team told Reuters: “The talks will take place over two days in Muscat, either on Saturday and Sunday or Sunday and Monday.”
Initially scheduled for May 3 in Rome, the fourth round of negotiations was postponed with mediator Oman citing “logistical reasons”.
Top U.S. negotiator Steve Witkoff also said Washington was trying to hold the next round of talks this weekend, according to the news site Axios, a day after Iran’s foreign ministry reiterated Tehran’s commitment to diplomacy with Washington.
Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday discussed the progress in talks between Iran and the United States with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said.
Putin said Russia was ready to facilitate dialogue between Iran and the U.S. to reach a fair agreement.
Western countries say Iran’s nuclear programme is geared towards producing weapons, whereas Iran insists it is purely for civilian purposes.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, has threatened to bomb Iran if no agreement is reached with his administration to resolve the long-standing dispute.
“This is a very important time for Iran,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“They can’t have a nuclear weapon and if they choose to go a different route, it’s going to be a very sad thing, and it’s something we don’t want to have to do, but we have no choice,” he said.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Dubai Newsroom; additional reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Kevin Liffey and Nia Williams)