DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran and the United States held a fourth round of negotiations Sunday over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, just ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump to the Middle East this week.

An Iranian official told CNN that recent indirect talks with the United States aimed at addressing Tehran’s nuclear program and lifting sanctions were “not genuine” from the American side and were likely designed from the outset as a “trap to draw the situation toward tension.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday discussed the progress talks between Iran and the United States with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin said. Putin said Russia is ready to facilitate dialogue between Iran and the US to reach a "fair agreement.