Iran Calls Off Next Round of Nuclear Talks With US

The latest round of talks between US and Iranian negotiators will not take place Sunday as scheduled, the nation mediating the talks announced Saturday. Oman's foreign minister posted the cancelation of what was to be the sixth round, planned to take place in Muscat, on social media, the New York Times reports. Badr Albusaidi wrote that, nevertheless, "diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace." The US wants to slow or stop Iran's progress toward possessing a nuclear weapon.

Iran's foreign affairs minister had said earlier Saturday that holding the talks would be "unjustifiable" after the Israeli strikes on his nation, which triggered an ongoing exchange. Abbas Araghchi told Kaja Kallas, the European Union's top diplomat, in a phone call that the Israeli airstrikes were the "result of the direct support by Washington," state-run media reported, per the AP. American officials have denied any US role in the strikes. The US-Iran negotiations began in April. (More Iranian nuclear program stories.)