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| This picture shows a magazine front page at a kiosk in Tehran on April 19, 2025, featuring the Iran-US talks on the Iranian nuclear program set to begin in Rome on the same day. |
"In light of mounting friction, Michael Kurilla, who directs American forces in the Middle East as the head of US Central Command, postponed his testimony before US lawmakers he was set to give on Thursday, according to two officials.
"Kurilla was set to testify in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions that the US has imposed on the Islamic Republic. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful.
"The next round of talks — the sixth — had been tentatively scheduled for this weekend in Oman, according to two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. However, those officials said Wednesday that it looked increasingly unlikely that the talks would happen.
"However, a US official later told Reuters that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday and discuss Iran’s response to the recent American proposal for a nuclear deal.
"Trump, who has previously threatened to use military force against Iran if negotiations failed, gave a less-than-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that he was “getting more and more less confident about” a deal."...
. . ."Retaliatory strikes by Israel later that month severely damaged Iran’s air defense systems, and analysts have speculated that Israel prefers to launch military action before the Islamic Republic has time to rebuild its air defense array.
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