Iranian officials said they scheduled a fourth round of talks with U.S. officials last Thursday in Baghdad but claim U.S. officials weren't ready, the AlAlam news agency reported Monday.

The spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said that "hours before the meeting, the Iraqi officials quoted the Americans as saying they were not ready. They told us this without any explanation."

The Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the talks were canceled because the U.S. delegation didn't show up but U.S. officials said they weren't informed about the date, AlSumaria said.

Iran and the United States haven't had formal diplomatic ties since 1980.