https://ghostarchive.org/archive/TXxp4

The latest round of talks between the United States and Iran on the future of Iran’s nuclear program has been canceled, officials said on Saturday.

The two countries had been scheduled to meet for a sixth round of negotiations on Sunday in Muscat, the capital of Oman. But that diplomacy has been scuttled by the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, which began with Israeli airstrikes on Friday. Israel’s attacks have targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, top military commanders and senior nuclear program officials.

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.

Earlier Saturday, Iran had appeared to adopt a slightly ambiguous stance on further negotiations, calling the talks “meaningless” while also suggesting that a final decision on whether to participate was still pending.

But Iran’s stance hardened as the day went on, with Ismail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, telling reporters at a news conference in Tehran that Iranian participation would be suspended until Israel halts its 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.