Oman's foreign minister announced that the fourth round of negotiations with the United States on Iran's nuclear program had been postponed.

Minister Badr Bin Bin Hamad Al-Busaidi announced the news on Thursday on social media platform X, just days before the talks were expected to begin in Rome.

“For logistical reasons, we will reschedule the interim scheduled U.S. Iran meeting on Saturday, May 3,” he wrote. “When mutual agreement is agreed, a new date will be announced.”

Al-Busaidi had previously held three rounds of negotiations between Iran and the United States. The first time was held in Moste, the capital of Oman on April 12, and a follow-up was conducted in Rome next weekend. The third round of negotiations returned to Moster on April 26, with the United States touting "progress" towards a nuclear deal.

But tensions between Iran and the U.S. governments have been vanishing under meetings held in recent weeks.

President Donald Trump's administration said its aim is to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, although Tehran has long denied weapons as a target. It constitutes its nuclear program as a civilian energy project.

The Trump White House has already suggested that its target could further expand to the complete demolition of Iran's nuclear enrichment plan. In mid-April, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff issued a statement saying that “Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear abundance and weaponization program” as part of the final agreement.

Earlier Thursday, Iran accused the U.S. of making “contradictory behavior and provocative statements” about nuclear negotiations.

On Wednesday, the United States took a series of positive moves as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, strengthening an already uneasy relationship.

First, the U.S. State Department approved seven entities engaged in trade in Iran's oil products because the proceeds "support their terrorist activities and agents." Then, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made his own remarks warning that Iran’s support for Yemeni armed group Hushis could lead to U.S. retaliation.

"A message to Iran: We see your fatal support for Hossis. We know exactly what you are doing," Hegseth wrote on social media on Wednesday.

"You know the capabilities of the U.S. military very well - and be warned. You will pay for the consequences at the time and place of our choice."

Despite the heated remarks, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Thursday's postponement was "at the request of Omani Foreign Minister." Iranian spokesman Esmail Baghaei also stressed that his country is committed to reaching a "fair and lasting agreement" with the United States.

Still, a senior Iranian government official told Reuters News on anonymous condition that recent U.S. actions were related to delays.

"U.S. sanctions against Iran during the nuclear negotiations did not help both sides resolve the nuclear dispute diplomatically," the official told Reuters. "According to the US approach, the date of the next round of talks will be announced."

Meanwhile, other media reports show that the prospect of the United States holding talks in Rome this weekend is not fully grasped.

An anonymous source told the Associated Press that the U.S. “never confirmed the expected talks this weekend” but further negotiations are expected “in the near future.”

The continuous U.S. government has tried to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. A recent effort was ultimately called the Joint Integrated Action Plan (JCPOA) in the 2015 agreement.

During the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, the multilateral agreement created a framework for Iran in exchange for relief from international sanctions in exchange for reducing its uranium enrichment and submitting a framework for inspecting its nuclear facilities.

But when Trump took over Obama as U.S. president, he set out to plan to withdraw from the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018, causing the deal to collapse.

Instead, Trump has put on a "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran since taking office for the second time in January during his presidency from 2017 to 2021.

When Trump launched a new U.S. attack on Hotis in March, he warned that Iran was responsible for strikes on ships in the Red Sea - he hinted that he would consider using force against the country.

"From this point, every shot that will be fired at Husseus will be seen as a shooting fired from Iran's weapons and leaders, and Iran will be responsible and suffer the consequences that will be terrible!" Trump wrote on March 17.

Recently, the threat of a U.S. president to conduct military operations could also be a consequence if a nuclear deal is not reached.

In an interview with Time magazine published on April 25, Trump talked about the pressure from his US ally Israeli troops facing Iran, saying he was not excluded.

"We may have to attack because Iran will have no nuclear weapons," Trump said at one point. "End of the day, I'm leaving this choice for them, but I said I dropped a deal than a bomb."

Later, he added: “If we don’t reach an agreement, I will lead this issue”, which seems to refer to military intervention.

But the US president stressed that he has benefited from the proliferation of talks with Iran. He even expressed his willingness to meet with Iran's leaders in person.

"I think we're going to have an agreement with Iran. I think we're going to have an agreement with Iran," he said. "No one else can do that."