TEHRAN -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Monday that negotiations with the U.S. will continue indirectly, and called on Washington to stop taking “contradictory” positions. 
“The venue of the next round of negotiations will probably be somewhere other than Oman … the format and framework of the talks will remain unchanged,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. 
“Direct talks with the U.S. will be neither fruitful nor acceptable to Iran,” he added. “Indirect negotiation is not an unconventional method. It has happened before and is based on previous proven experiences. We have to choose a method that we’re confident of its efficiency.”
Baghaei said, “One of the reasons that Iran opted for indirect talks with the U.S. was the contradictory American policies. The U.S. cannot press ahead with the policy of pressure and threat at the same time with a call for direct talks,” he said, calling on Washington to “resolve this paradox.”
Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on the Iranian nuclear program began in Oman on Saturday. 
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with a bombing campaign if a deal is not reached, while maintaining his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran. 
Iran insists that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. It has also stressed that the talks with Washington focus solely on the nuclear issue and the removal of U.S. sanctions, and has rejected negotiations regarding any of its defense capabilities, such as its ballistic missile program. 
Trump said on Sunday that a decision on Iran would be made soon, following what both Washington and Tehran described as “positive” and “constructive” discussions in Oman the day before. The two sides have agreed to meet again later this week.
Speaking to reporters while flying on Air Force One, Trump said he had held talks with his advisors on the matter and anticipated reaching a decision quickly.
“We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” Trump said.
According to Axios, citing two sources familiar with the matter, a follow-up round of nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran is expected to take place this coming Saturday in Rome.
A source told Iranian news agency Tasnim that “the second round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. will be definitely mediated by Oman