The fourth round of Iran-American negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program has been delayed.
The Oman Foreign Minister facilitating negotiations said that negotiations on Saturday in Rome were deferred for logistical reasons, adding that a new date would be set when agreed by all parties.
This comes after US Secretary of Defense Pete Heget on Thursday warned that Iran would “pay the consequence” for his support as Huti's rebels in Yemen. Washington has also announced sanctions this week for companies that are said to have relationships with Tehran.
President Donald Trump removed the United States from a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and five other world forces in 2018 and has long stated that he would conclude a “better” deal.
Previously, Trump warned of hostilities if these new negotiations, which began in April, fail. Both sides identified the first round of conversations in the Oman capital as “constructive”.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the last stage of the negotiations has been postponed, but Washington is yet to comment officially.
However, an unnamed US source told Reuters news agency that Washington “had never confirmed” its participation in the fourth round of conversations, nor was their time confirmed.
The delay is unlikely to mean that the conversations have fallen apart, with the two sides eager to avoid war.
But Tehran reports described the increasing doubt about the usefulness of the conversations, pointing to the new sanctions, and what Tehran calls contradictory positions from the US delegation.
Part of Trump's “maximum pressure” policy towards Tehran, sanctions on Wednesday target entities have announced, the US has stated to participate in the illegal trade in Iranian oil and petrochemicals.
The US State Department said in a statement: “The Iranian regime continues to nourish conflicts in the Middle East, to progress its nuclear program and to support its terrorist partners and proxies.
“Today, the United States is taking action to terminate the flow of revenue that the regime uses to finance these destabilizing activities.”
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the latest sanctions are “additional proof of the controversial behavior of US decisions and lack of good faith.”
Media reports in Iran also pointed to the post of heget on X earlier on Thursday, which was redirected by Trump's special envoy to the Middle East Steve Vikof, who heads the US delegation.
“Message to Iran: We see your deadly support to Huti. We know exactly what you are doing. You will pay the consequence in the time and place of our choice,” Post Read.
Hutis have declared themselves part of the “axis of resistance” of groups related to Iran, against Israel, the United States and the wider west -only with armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
The United States has launched several deadly strikes along Huti's goals in recent months in response to the Red Sea shipping group attacks, which began in November 2023 in response to Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Trump said he was looking for a solution to close Iran's roads to build a nuclear bomb. But there are those in his administration who insist on the complete disassembly of the Iranian nuclear enrichment program.
They also urged Iran to suspend support for its proxies in the region, including Huti.
Iran says his program is calm and that he is entitled to enrichment. He hopes for a deal to limit, but not to dismantle, his nuclear program in exchange for the relief of sanctions.
Following Russia, Iran was under the most enlightened set of sanctions in history – the sanctions that the United States imposed on the country.
President Masud Petshki has focused Iran's economic policies on the promise of raising these sanctions.