Sunday's US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi's statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump's administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday's talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped "the Iranians will come to the table soon," the official said.
Earlier Saturday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called further nuclear talks with the United States 'meaningless' after the Israeli strikes on the country.
'The US did a job that made the talks become meaningless,' Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel has passed all Iran's red lines by committing a 'criminal act' through its strikes.
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These include the attempted 2020 kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and a man who broke into Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's residence in April and set it on fire. In July last year, then-candidate Trump escaped an assassination attempt by a gunman while speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Texas Department of Public Safety said it arrested a person in connection with a threat against state lawmakers who had planned to attend a protest at the state capitol in Austin, which it evacuated. There was no indication of a direct link to the Minnesota killings. Trump has faced criticism from some opponents over his handling of incidents involving political violence. In one of his first moves in office earlier this year, Trump pardoned nearly everyone criminally charged with participating in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
