Washington Rejects Iran’s Terms for Nuclear Talks, Raising Risk of Escalation
Planned US-Iran negotiations set for Friday in Istanbul are in jeopardy after Iran sought to change the location and format of the talks—moves Washington rejected as an attempt to narrow the agenda to Iran’s nuclear program and sidestep broader regional concerns. The dispute, reported by Axios and other outlets, comes as President Donald Trump’s administration keeps military pressure on Iran while insisting any deal must be wider, enforceable, and fast.
According to two US officials cited in the reports, the sides had agreed to meet in Turkey with other Middle Eastern countries present as observers. The framework, US officials said, was brokered with Turkish help and built around two tracks: direct US-Iran discussions on the nuclear file, and a broader multilateral track covering Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for proxy groups, and human rights abuses linked to Tehran’s crackdown on protests.
Iran then pushed to move the talks to Oman and convert them into a bilateral format, with Iranian media describing an agenda limited to nuclear issues and sanctions relief. Washington declined. “We told them it is this or nothing, and they said, ‘Ok, then nothing,’” a senior US official said. Another US official said, “We tried to reach an accommodation, but the Iranians refused. There is a good chance the talks won’t happen now at all this week.”
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One official framed the decision as a line in the sand: “We didn’t want to be flexible here because if there is a deal, it has to be real. We didn’t want to go back to the old way of doing things.” The same official warned, “We want to reach a real deal quickly, or people will look at other options,” an apparent reference to military action.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced the administration’s position publicly, saying: “At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage, with Iran.” He added, “In order for talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles. That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organisations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.”
Regional consultations continued. US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Qatar for talks with Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani, with reports suggesting they would not proceed to meet Iranian officials unless Tehran returned to the original plan.
The standoff is unfolding alongside rising military friction. US Central Command said a US F-35C shot down an Iranian drone after it approached the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea with “unclear intent.”
