A sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States planned for this weekend has been cancelled, mediator Oman said Saturday, as Iran and Israel exchange massive strikes in their fiercest confrontation yet.

The talks on Iran’s nuclear programme began in April, with US President Donald Trump threatening military action if diplomacy failed.

“The Iran US-talks scheduled to be held in Muscat this Sunday will not now take place,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X.

“Diplomacy and dialogue remain the only pathway to lasting peace,” he added.

A key sticking point in the talks in the lead-up to Sunday’s now cancelled meeting had been Iran’s enrichment of uranium.

The United States, Israel and other Western countries have long accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, an accusation it has categorically denied.

The huge wave of Israeli attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities on Friday has cast the future of the talks into severe doubt.

A US administration official said told AFP on condition of anonymity that “while there will be no meeting Sunday, we remain committed to talks and hope the Iranians will come to the table soon.”

The Iranian foreign ministry earlier said it would be “meaningless to participate in dialogue” with the United States at this point, citing Washington’s support for “the aggressor” Israel.

AFP

More RAF jets are being sent to the Middle East amid intense fighting between Israel and Iran, the prime minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer said the military aircraft, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent “for contingency support across the region”.

He said the situation was fast-moving and there were ongoing discussions with allies, adding: “The constant message is de-escalate.”

The UK last announced it had deployed jets to the region last year, when the government said British aircraft had been playing a role in preventing escalation.

Sir Keir made the remarks as he travelled to Canada for the G7 summit, where he said the weekend’s “intense” developments would be further discussed.

He later met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney – a former Bank of England governor – in Ottawa for talks on security and trade.

Both will head later to the Canadian province of Alberta for the summit, with the Middle East uppermost on the agenda.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump are among those gathering there for three days of talks.

The prime minister is neither ruling in nor out the prospect of British jets helping Israel – as happened in both April and October last year.

Iran has warned the UK, France and America that were they to support Israel, their ships and bases in the region would be regarded as legitimate targets.

“We’ve already been moving assets to the region, including jets, and that is for contingency support across the region,” Sir Keir told reporters.

“Our constant message is de-escalate, and therefore everything we’re doing, all discussions we’re having are to do with de-escalation.”

The prime minister would not be drawn on whether the UK would be involved in defending Israel.

“I had a good and constructive discussion with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu yesterday [Friday], and that included discussions about the safety and security of Israel, as you would expect, between two allies,” he said.

He reiterated that the UK had “long-standing concerns” about Iran’s nuclear programme and recognised Israel’s right to self-defence.

Iran has threatened to target UK, French and US military bases in the region if they offer Israel help to stop Tehran’s strikes.

Sir Keir spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday afternoon, Downing Street said.

“They discussed the gravely concerning situation in the Middle East and agreed on the need to de-escalate,” a spokesman said.

Tensions between Israel and Iran have ramped up in recent days.

Iran launched a fresh attack on Israel on Saturday night, while the Israeli military said it was continuing to strike military targets in Tehran.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has threatened a “more severe” response if Israel doesn’t stand down. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz earlier warned that “Tehran will burn” if Iran continues to launch missiles.

Iranian state TV reported 60 people had been killed in a strike in Tehran, while in Israel, officials said three people had been killed and dozens injured in strikes.

Washington DC and Tehran were due to resume talks on Iran’s nuclear programme on Sunday, but the talks have now been cancelled, mediator Oman said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the warring sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers’ bodies.

Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that “the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.”

Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden’s administration to Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour.

Trump’s approach has stunned Washington’s allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support.

“Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations,” during the call, the Kremlin said.

It added that the presidents “communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be.”

Zelensky urged the United States to “shift tone” in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was “too warm” and would not help to end the war.

“Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it,” the Ukrainian President said on X.

The Ukrainian leader also warned against a drop in aid due to the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, at a time when European support is stalling without US engagement.

The recent escalation sparked anxiety in Kyiv about future supplies of military aid, fearing Washington might relocate more resources to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday.

“We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,” he said. “Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.”

More soldiers exchanged

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return bodies of killed soldiers.

The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul.

Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags.

Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.

Moscow’s defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting “Glory to Russia” and “hooray”, some raising their fists in the air.

As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia.

It said Moscow had said they were those of “Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.” Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.

Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year offensive. It has demanded Ukraine cede territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace.

Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the assault has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments.

Meanwhile, Russia intensified its advances along the front line, especially on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where it seeks to establish a “buffer zone”.

By doing it, Moscow seeks to protect its bordering region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.

Zelensky said Russia’s advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv’s forces had managed to retake one village.

He also denied Moscow’s earlier claims that its troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region.

He said 53,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation.

AFP