Will the U.S. and Iran meet for more nuclear talks?
Iran appeared to adopt an ambiguous stance on Saturday toward further negotiations with the United States over the future of its nuclear program, calling the talks 'meaningless' while also suggesting that a final decision on whether to participate was still pending.
The sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks was scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, the capital of Oman. It was thrown into question by the Israeli airstrikes that began on Friday and continued on Saturday, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, top military commanders and senior nuclear program officials.
'It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday,' Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying by Iran's state news media.
After the initial round of Israeli attacks on Friday, the state news media said that the Islamic Republic was suspending its participation in the talks 'until further notice.'
The senior Iranian figures killed by Israel included Ali Shamkhani, a former secretary of the Supreme National Council, who was overseeing the talks as part of a committee named by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian officials described the killing of Mr. Shamkhani as targeting nuclear diplomacy.
Mr. Baghaei accused Washington of undermining the talks. The United States 'acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,' he was quoted as saying, accusing Washington of claiming to want to negotiate while also giving Israel its consent to attack.
Although Washington has denied direct involvement, Mr. Baghaei said it was 'unimaginable' for Israel to have carried out such 'adventurous aggression' without a green light from the Americans.
'Basically, the Zionist regime's constant desire was to drag Western countries into conflict and entanglement in the region,' he said. 'It seems that it has succeeded this time as well and has somehow influenced a diplomatic process with this adventure. This actually shows that American policymakers are still heavily affected and influenced by this regime.'
President Trump and his administration have repeatedly urged Iran to continue with the dialogue as a means to halt further attacks.
'Iran's leadership will be wise to negotiate at this time,' McCoy Pitt, a senior State Department official, said in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday focused on the crisis.
Mr. Trump has written on social media that even more brutal attacks are in store for Iran if it does not make a deal. Iran has denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
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