Report: Iran, US to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul

Tehran - BORNA - The Monday report by Reuters said the talks will be held in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Friday between Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

The report quoted anonymous officials and diplomats from Iran and the US as saying that representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt will also attend the talks, which they said will include bilateral, trilateral, and other meetings.

This development came two days after Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said that a framework for nuclear talks between Iran and the US was making progress, dismissing media speculation about a potential US attack on Iran.

Larijani’s statement was quickly followed by remarks from US President Donald Trump, who said Iran had begun communicating with the US.

There was no immediate reaction from Iranian officials to the Reuters report. It came hours after the US-based news website Axios also published a similar story, claiming that Aragchi and Witkoff would meet in Istanbul on Friday.

The reports emerged amid growing concerns about a potential military confrontation between Iran and the US, following Washington’s increased military presence in the region.

Iran has warned that it would respond decisively to even the slightest military action by the United States.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that a regional war would erupt if the US dares to attack Iran.

Iranian authorities have rejected previous US demands as conditions for a nuclear deal, including a complete halt to the country’s nuclear enrichment program and limits on its missile capability.

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