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Sunday's Iran-US nuclear deal talks ‘not now taking place’, says Oman amid Israel strikes
Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday that continuing nuclear talks with the US would be “unjustifiable” in light of Israel’s ongoing military assault.
Nuclear talks between Iran and the US scheduled for Sunday in Oman will no longer take place, after Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic prompted retaliatory strikes that escalated regional tensions.
“The Iran US talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X. “But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace.”
In response to Thursday’s attacks on its nuclear facilities, Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel, which in turn maintained its airstrikes into Saturday. Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in a statement that “Tehran will burn” if Iran’s assault continues.
Hours after Israel bombed the Islamic Republic’s atomic facilities and killed some of its top commanders, President Donald Trump had urged Iran to accept a nuclear deal to avoid further attacks.
But Iran’s foreign minister and lead negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said on Saturday that continuing nuclear talks with the US would be “unjustifiable” in light of Israel’s ongoing military assault.
“Continuing indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States, while the Zionist regime’s brutality persists, is unjustifiable,” Araghchi said in a phone call with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
