Planned U.S.-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Friday are back on and will now take place in Oman after at least nine regional countries urged the White House not to cancel the meeting, according to U.S. officials.
The talks were originally set for Istanbul with additional Middle Eastern countries observing, but Iran pushed to move the meeting to Muscat and limit discussions to bilateral nuclear negotiations. U.S. officials initially rejected the change before reversing course to respect regional allies and continue pursuing diplomacy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the meeting will be held Friday morning in Muscat. U.S. officials said the countries had previously planned dual-track talks, including direct nuclear negotiations and broader multilateral discussions on missiles, proxy groups, and human rights, but only bilateral nuclear talks are now expected.
White House envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior defense officials in Israel ahead of the talks, where Israeli intelligence on Iran was shared. Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Qatar before heading to Oman for the meeting.
