Amid heightened tensions and tensions, hours after announcing the location and time of talks between Tehran and Washington, American officials today (Wednesday) announced the collapse of plans for talks with Iran, with Iranian officials blaming Washington.
“We told Iran the choice was this or nothing, and they said, ‘Nothing,'” Axios quoted a US official as saying. He added: “Washington has informed Tehran that it does not agree to the request to change the location and format of Friday’s talks.”
He noted that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Kushner will discuss the Iranian file in Qatar tomorrow (Thursday) before returning to Miami, explaining that the country wants to reach a real deal with Iran, but if not, there are other options.
“We will meet with the Iranian side if they return to the original wording of their proposal for talks,” the US official added, explaining that US officials had notified Iran that their request for talks had been rejected.
He noted that Iran’s determination to move talks from Turkiye was rejected.
Meanwhile, an Iranian official told Reuters that “Iran is willing to talk with the United States only on nuclear issues,” adding that “Washington’s determination on non-nuclear issues puts talks at risk.”
Iran’s official media announced today that talks between Tehran and Washington scheduled for next Friday have been moved to Oman’s capital Muscat instead of Turkey, and will be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff. This was confirmed by the Axios website, which quoted a US official as saying, “President Donald Trump’s administration has agreed to Iran’s request to move the talks away from Turkey,” adding that “negotiations are still ongoing regarding the participation of Arab and Islamic countries in the talks.”
Amid heightened tensions and tensions, just hours after announcing the location and timing of talks between Tehran and Washington, US officials today (Wednesday) announced the collapse of plans for talks with Iran, with Iranian officials blaming Washington.
“We told Iran the choice is this or nothing,” the Axios website quoted a U.S. official as saying, and Iran responded, “Then do nothing.” He added: “Washington has informed Tehran that it does not agree to the request to change the location and format of Friday’s talks.”
He noted that US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are scheduled to discuss the Iran issue in Qatar before returning to Miami tomorrow (Thursday), explaining that the country wants to reach a real deal with Iran, but if not, there are other options.
“We will meet with the Iranian side if Iran returns to the original form of the proposed talks,” the US official added, adding that US officials had informed Iran that its request for talks had been rejected.
He pointed out that Iran’s insistence on moving the talks from Türkiye is unacceptable.
In contrast, an Iranian official told Reuters that “Iran is willing to talk with the United States only on nuclear issues,” adding that “Washington’s insistence on non-nuclear issues puts talks at risk.”
Earlier today, Iranian state media announced that the meeting between Tehran and Washington scheduled for next Friday would be moved to Oman’s capital Muscat instead of Turkey. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will also participate in the talks. Axios confirmed this, quoting a US official as saying, “The Trump administration has agreed to Iran’s request to relocate the talks from Turkey,” adding that “negotiations are still ongoing regarding the participation of Arab and Islamic countries in the talks.”
