Iran/US talks Saturday in Rome, says Tehran

Iran and the United States will hold a fourth round of nuclear talks on Saturday in Rome, still under Omani mediation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday.

"The next round of negotiations will take place in Rome," said Araghchi, following a cabinet meeting, adding that "the day before, on Friday, we will also have a meeting with three European countries."

France, the United Kingdom, and Germany are, along with China and Russia, members of a nuclear agreement concluded with Iran in 2015.

The agreement, which provides for the lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear activities, effectively became void following the U.S. withdrawal from this deal in 2018, during Donald Trump's first presidency.

Trump, who seeks a new agreement with Iran, called on the country to negotiate in March but threatens to bomb it if diplomacy fails.

The two countries, enemies for four decades, began talks on April 12 under Omani mediation. They exchanged again on April 19 and 26.

The second round of talks took place in Rome, while the others were held in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The 2015 agreement, which expires in October a decade after the text's entry into force, provides the possibility of reimposing sanctions if Iran does not comply with its commitments.

France warned Monday that it would not hesitate "for a single second," along with Germany and the United Kingdom, to reimpose sanctions against Iran if European security were threatened by the Iranian nuclear program.

Iran condemned these "threats" on Wednesday. "The use of threats and economic blackmail is totally unacceptable," said the Iranian mission to the United Nations.

"If France and its partners are truly interested in a diplomatic solution, they must abandon coercion," it emphasized, in response to Monday's remarks by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.