As concern grows that high-level talks to resume Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations could fall through, Iran said the talks will proceed as planned.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran said on the 4th (local time) on social media X (formerly Twitter) that "the nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday the 6th in Muscat," adding, "We thank our brothers in Oman for making all the necessary preparations." Iran's state-run IRNA news agency also reported on this.
The remarks came shortly after the U.S. internet outlet Axios reported that Washington had notified Tehran it would not accept Iran's request to change the venue and format of the talks.
The two countries initially agreed to hold the talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, with officials from neighboring Middle Eastern countries observing. But Iran later asked to move the venue to Muscat, the Omani capital, and to switch to a bilateral format excluding other countries.
Axios assessed Iran's change of position as "a strategy to limit the agenda to the nuclear issue and avoid matters that the United States and Middle Eastern countries want to prioritize, such as the missile program."