Iran says next nuclear talks with US set for Saturday in Rome

Iran and the United States will hold a fourth round of talks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program in Rome on Saturday, Iran's foreign minister said.

The longtime adversaries have held three rounds of negotiations aiming for a deal on the program, which the West believes is intended to develop nuclear weapons — an allegation Tehran denies.

The talks, which began on April 12 and are mediated by Oman, are the highest-level contact in years between the two sides.

"The next round of negotiations will take place in Rome," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Iranian officials are also expected to meet Friday with representatives from Britain, France and Germany — the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal.

That agreement called for lifting international sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities. The accord collapsed in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S.

Earlier this week, France warned that the European trio could reimpose sanctions. In response, Iran's U.N. mission said "threats and economic blackmail" were "entirely unacceptable."

"Genuine diplomacy cannot proceed under threats or pressure," the mission said in a statement published Wednesday by Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency.

In March, Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging direct talks and warning of potential military action if Iran refused.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign, mirroring the policy of his first term.

Tehran has insisted that the current talks remain focused solely on nuclear restrictions and sanctions relief.

Both sides reported progress during the last round of negotiations, held Saturday in the Omani capital Muscat.