The United States said it expected new nuclear talks to take place soon with Iran but President Donald Trump vowed to enforce sanctions and called for global boycott of "any amount" of Iranian oil or petrochemicals. Iran said that a fourth round of talks with the Trump administration, which had been set to take place this weekend in Rome, had been delayed. Oman, which has mediated between the long-time adversaries, said that "logistical reasons" were to blame for the delay. 

But in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that the meeting's date and venue had never been decided. "We expect another round of talks that will take place in the near future," she told reporters. Trump, who ripped up an earlier nuclear deal in 2018, has voiced hope at securing a fresh agreement to resolve concerns and stave off the possibility of an Israeli military strike on Iran. Yet, he has openly spoken of his ambivalence.

On returning to office, he vowed a return to "maximum pressure" but said he was doing so reluctantly, at the behest of hawkish advisors. Iran wants relief from sweeping sanctions imposed by Trump in the first term, including a US attempt to bar all countries from buying Iranian oil. Trump on Thursday vowed enforcement, a day after the United States imposed sanctions on seven companies accused of transporting Iranian-origin petroleum products. 

"All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions," he wrote. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday warned Iran on social media over support to Yemen's Huthi insurgents, who are being pounded by US airstrikes over their missile firings in the Red Sea in purported solidarity with the Palestinians.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)