By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Planned negotiations between Iran and the United States this weekend over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program have been postponed, Oman announced Thursday.

A message online from Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement in a post on the social platform X.

“For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3rd,” he wrote. “New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”

Al-Busaidi, who has mediated the talks through three rounds so far, did not elaborate.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being “postponed at the request of Oman’s foreign minister.” He said Iran remain committed to reaching ”a fair and lasting agreement.”

Meanwhile, a person familiar with the U.S. negotiators said that America “had never confirmed its participation” in a fourth round of talks in Rome. However, the person said the U.S. expected the talks to occur “in the near future.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.

The talks Saturday were to be held in Rome, which soon will see the Vatican begin the conclave on Wednesday to pick a new pope after the death of Pope Francis. Two other rounds of talks have been held in Muscat, the capital of Oman.

The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity. The negotiations have been led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran’s program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, setting in motion years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues an airstrike campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” that has been targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who long have been backed by Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth early Thursday warned Iran over the rebels.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote. “You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

Last Saturday’s round of talks, which included experts drilling down into the details of a possible deal, also took place as an explosion rocked an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

The deal has closed, the merger is complete.

Old National Bancorp announced on Thursday the closing of its previously-announced merger with St. Paul-based Bremer Financial Corporation.

Bremer Financial Corporation is the bank holding company for Bremer Bank.

This merger means that Old National is the third-largest bank to the Twin Cities and among the top 25 banking companies headquartered in the United States.

Bremer, one of the nation’s largest farm lenders, maintains 70 branches in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Old National will increase its previous five-year “Community Growth Plan” commitments of $9.5 billion to $11.1 billion, it announced in a news release.

“This adds approximately $1.6 billion in lending, investments and philanthropy commitments in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin,” the news release stated.

Also, the Otto Bremer Trust will maintain an 11% ownership stake in Old National, and Daniel Reardon, the co-CEO and trustee of Otto Bremer Trust, is joining the Old National board of directors.

As for Bremer Bank, it will operate as a division of Old National Bank “prior to the facilities and systems conversion,” which is anticipated to occur in mid-October, according to Old National.

The combined organization will operate under the Old National Bancorp and Old National Bank names, a news release stated.

For now, clients will continue to be served through their respective Old National or Bremer branches, websites, mobile apps, financial advisors and relationship managers until the systems conversion is complete. Clients can continue to use the full ATM network of both banks for cash withdrawals at no charge, according to Old National.

Jeanne Crain, chief executive officer of Bremer Bank, announced mid-April she would step down from the role on May 16, once the merger was complete.

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A woman in her 60s was found dead in a house fire Thursday morning.

Woodbury Public Safety responders were alerted at 5:30 a.m. to a fire on the 9000 block of Pinehurst Road, according to the department. The house was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived at the scene.

Homeowners told responders that one person was likely still inside the home. Woodbury firefighters worked to extinguish the flames while searching for the missing person and they found her deceased, according to Woodbury Public Safety.

An investigation into the cause of the fire and the cause of death is ongoing. Woodbury Public Safety said that at this time, there are no signs of foul play involved in the case.

Other responders that assisted on the scene included Lakeview EMS, and the fire departments of Lake Elmo, Cottage Grove, Oakdale, Newport, St. Paul Park and Maplewood.

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By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Business Writers

Kohl’s has terminated CEO Ashley Buchanan, who just started the department store chain’s helm in January, after an investigation determined that he directed the retailer to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest.

Kohl’s named Chairman Michael Bender as interim CEO, effective immediately.

Kohl’s said Thursday that Buchanan’s firing is unrelated to its performance, financial reporting, results of operations and did not involve any of its other employees.

Kohl’s will conduct a search for a permanent CEO and said it will name a new chair in due course. The company couldn’t be immediately be reached for comments.

The news comes nearly four months after Buchanan, who had been the CEO of arts and crafts chain Michaels, took over the job in January.

Buchanan had succeeded Tom Kingsbury, who stayed on as an adviser and is retaining his position on Kohl’s board until his retirement next month. Kingsbury served as Kohl’s interim CEO in December 2022 and was named its permanent leader in February 2023.

The firing comes at a time when Kohl’s, which operates 1,600 stores across the country, is wrestling with sluggish sales. Its middle income shoppers have pulled back on discretionary spending in the face of still-high prices for necessities. Like other department stores, it’s also faced stiff competition from Walmart and Amazon, which have been improving their fashion offerings at affordable prices. And like other retailers, it is facing uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s expansive tariffs.

On Thursday, the company offered a preliminary look at sales and profits for the current quarter that showed continued weakness. It said that it expects to report a decline in comparable sales in the range of 4.3% to 4%, and a loss of 24 cents to 20 cents per share. It expects to report final first-quarter results on May 29.

Shares of the company, based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, rose 6.4% in morning trading.