US never agreed to attend fourth round of nuclear talks with Iran - Reuters

Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed that the fourth round of talks with the United States scheduled for Saturday in Rome has been postponed, adding that the delay came at the request of Oman.

“The postponement of the talks was proposed by Oman’s foreign minister, and the new date will be announced later,” spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said in a statement.

“Iran’s delegation had entered the talks in good faith from the outset, with clear frameworks based on the country’s core positions and international law regarding the peaceful use of nuclear energy and the lifting of unlawful sanctions,” he said.

Baghaei criticized what he called "the contradictory approach of American decision-makers and their lack of goodwill and seriousness in advancing the path of diplomacy."

"The responsibility for the consequences and destructive effects of the contradictory behavior and provocative statements of American officials regarding Iran will lie with the American side," he added.

Baghaei said Iran remains firmly committed to pursuing result-oriented talks aimed at achieving a fair, reasonable, and lasting agreement.

Oman's foreign minister says the fourth round of Iran-US talks has been rescheduled "for logistical reasons".

"New dates will be announced when mutually agreed," Badr Albusaidi said in a post on his X account.

"You heard Secretary Hegseth say Iran needs to wake up. Iran needs to get the message that it can be a responsible country. The president of the United States wants peace, he's ready to make a deal, and that it cannot have a nuclear weapon," national security adviser Mike Waltz said in an interview with Fox News.

"Not only can it not have a nuclear weapon, it cannot provide funding, resources, missiles and assistance to a terrorist organization that is attacking international shipping, attacking United States assets, shooting at our planes. Enough is enough, and the President has been loud and clear."

"We sincerely hope Iran receives that message, and again, our great ambassador Witkoff is waiting for them to come back to the table."

More than 1,100 people were rescued within hours of the explosion and fire at Rajaei port in Bandar Abbas, said Iran’s Red Crescent chief on Thursday.
Over 340 rescue workers and specialists were deployed immediately after the blast, Pir Hossein Kolivand told reporters.

“Only 30 people remain hospitalized,” he said, adding that there were no reports of theft or security breaches at the site.

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The editor of Iran’s ultra-hardline Kayhan newspaper, Hossein Shariatmadari, criticized Iranian negotiators for taking seriously European threats to trigger UN snapback sanctions, saying the 2015 nuclear deal is no longer valid.

In an editorial published Thursday, Shariatmadari wrote, “Is there even a JCPOA left for the snapback mechanism to apply to?” He added, “Europe has no independence and is once again playing the role of ‘bad cop’ to deceive us.”

Shariatmadari, whose paper is managed under the supervision of the Supreme Leader’s office, argued that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) lost legal standing after the US withdrawal in 2018, and that the European troika’s latest threat was “empty.”

His comments came after France’s foreign minister warned that Paris could initiate the snapback process if talks with Iran fail to address European security concerns.

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