Istanbul, Turkey. Iran is demanding that talks with the United States this week be held in Oman instead of Turkey and be limited to two-way nuclear discussions, a regional source said on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether the meeting will proceed as planned.
Venue and agenda dispute
The talks are currently scheduled for Friday in Istanbul, according to the regional source. A regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran’s demands said Iran wants to change both the format and scope of the meeting, seeking discussions focused only on the nuclear file.
The diplomat said the United States wants the talks to include other topics such as ballistic missiles and the activities of Iran’s proxies in the region.
Rising tensions and military developments
Iran’s effort to change the venue and agenda comes amid heightened tensions as the United States builds up forces in the Middle East. Regional players have pushed for resolution of a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes.
The US military said on Tuesday it shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, in an incident first reported by Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said that with large US warships heading to Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.
US position and expected participants
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday that talks with Iran were still scheduled to take place later this week.
A source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was due to take part in the talks, along with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Ministers from several other countries in the region were also expected to attend.
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