Iran announces postponement of nuclear talks with the US without explaining the reasons

Technical talks scheduled to be held between Tehran and Washington as part of their negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program have been postponed from Wednesday to Saturday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.

“Based on Oman’s proposal and the approval of the Iranian and US delegations, the technical consultative meeting between the two countries, which was scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed to Saturday,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

The third round of Omani-mediated talks, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to take place on Saturday.

The Foreign Ministry didn’t mention the reason for postponing the technical talks, as later on Tuesday, Baqaei said that Araghchi was heading to China for talks.

Before heading to Beijing, Araghchi spoke with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi and briefed him on the latest developments in talks with the United States, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

Since April 12, Washington and Tehran have held two rounds of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, the first in Muscat and the second in Rome.

The Omani Foreign Ministry confirmed that the third round will be held in Muscat on April 26.

Officials on both sides confirmed progress in the two rounds of talks held so far.

These talks are the first at this level between the two countries since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country in 2018 from the international agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

The 2015 agreement aimed to restrict Iran’s activities and ensure the peaceful nature of its program, in exchange for easing economic sanctions imposed on it.

Upon his withdrawal, Trump re-imposed US sanctions on Iran, which responded a year later by gradually rolling back most of its core commitments under the agreement.