Tuesday, 03 February, 2026
Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would participate.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war.
"The president's been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say," the official said.
On monday Donald Trump said he had told Iran it has to do "two things" to avoid military action, as the US builds up its forces in the Gulf.
"Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters," the US president said, adding that "they are killing them by the thousands".
"We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them."
His latest remarks follow weeks of pressure on Iran to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said armed forces were ready "with their fingers on the trigger" to "immediately and powerfully respond" to any aggression.
Asked by the BBC whether he supported a potential US strike on Iran, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was talking to allies about how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear activities and killing protesters.
"The aim here is that Iran shouldn't be able to develop nuclear weapons. That's hugely important," Starmer said while on a visit to China.
"And of course we need to deal with the fact that they are repressing protesters, killing protesters. It's grotesque what is happening. And so that's where our focus is and we're working with allies to that end."
Araghchi, meanwhile, was in Istanbul on Friday for talks focused on averting the threat of US military action.
He said Iran was ready for talks with the US "if these negotiations are based on mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual trust" during a news conference with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
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Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would participate.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran's nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war.
"The president's been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say," the official said.
On monday Donald Trump said he had told Iran it has to do "two things" to avoid military action, as the US builds up its forces in the Gulf.
"Number one, no nuclear. And number two, stop killing protesters," the US president said, adding that "they are killing them by the thousands".
"We have a lot of very big, very powerful ships sailing to Iran right now, and it would be great if we didn't have to use them."
His latest remarks follow weeks of pressure on Iran to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said armed forces were ready "with their fingers on the trigger" to "immediately and powerfully respond" to any aggression.
Asked by the BBC whether he supported a potential US strike on Iran, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was talking to allies about how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear activities and killing protesters.
"The aim here is that Iran shouldn't be able to develop nuclear weapons. That's hugely important," Starmer said while on a visit to China.
"And of course we need to deal with the fact that they are repressing protesters, killing protesters. It's grotesque what is happening. And so that's where our focus is and we're working with allies to that end."
Araghchi, meanwhile, was in Istanbul on Friday for talks focused on averting the threat of US military action.
He said Iran was ready for talks with the US "if these negotiations are based on mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual trust" during a news conference with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
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