Iran demands changes in venue and scope of talks with US, source says

DUBAI/WASHINGTON: Iran is demanding that talks with the U.S. this week be held in Oman not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way talks on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether the meeting will go ahead as planned.

Iran’s effort to change the venue and agenda for the talks, currently scheduled for Friday in Istanbul, came amid heightened tensions as the U.S. 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 U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military said, in an incident first reported by Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

“They want to change the format, they want to change the scope,” said the regional diplomat with knowledge of Iran’s demands.

“They only want to discuss the nuclear file with the Americans while the U.S. wants to include other topics such as the (ballistic) missiles and the activities of Iran’s proxies in the region.”

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 U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Ministers from several other countries in the region were also expected to attend.

An Iranian diplomatic source said earlier that Tehran’s view of the talks is neither optimistic nor pessimistic, adding that the Islamic Republic’s defensive capabilities are non-negotiable and that it is ready for any scenario.

“It remains to be seen whether the United States also intends to conduct serious, results-oriented negotiations or not,” the source said.