TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that indirect negotiations with the U.S. will resume on Saturday in Rome. 
This will be preceded by a meeting on Friday between the Iranian delegation and representatives from the E3 group – the UK, France, and Germany – the three European signatories of the 2015 Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“In my opinion, the three European countries have lost their role (in the nuclear file) due to the wrong policies they have adopted. Of course, we do not want this and are ready to hold talks with them in Rome,” Araghchi told reporters here.
“We are continuing our negotiations with Europe, but the main talks are currently underway with the U.S. … and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have an important role in the future if an agreement is reached,” Araghchi added.
Tehran and Washington have engaged in three rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, marking the highest level of contact between the two sides in years.
The E3 group, along with China and Russia, were parties to the 2015 JCPOA. The nuclear deal collapsed three years after its formation when U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally exited and imposed “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran. 
Attempts to revive the deal were made in 2021 during talks in Vienna, which ultimately failed under former U.S. President Joe Biden’s government.
During his comments on Wednesday, Araghchi stressed that recent U.S. sanctions bear “a negative signal.”
“When the opposing parties take provocative actions during negotiations, it can call their seriousness into question. Of course, we are aware that there are different viewpoints in the U.S. and various lobbies are active there,” Iran’s top diplomat said.
Asked whether indirect talks with the U.S. have a timeline, Araghchi said, “We have not set a specific timeline, but naturally, we are not at all willing to engage in protracted negotiations and waste time, and of course, we feel that the other side has the same motivation.”
U.S. and Iranian officials have expressed satisfaction with the negotiations, calling the talks “positive” and describing them as “making progress.”