Middle East

According to multiple reports, Tehran is backtracking from understandings reached in recent days, while an intense internal power struggles within the Iranian leadership is taking form.

Iran is threatening to withdraw from nuclear negotiations as tensions escalate in the region, while the US military shot down an Iranian drone that approached the US Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, a US official told Reuters.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said that several armed motorboats attempted to stop a merchant vessel between the coasts of Iran and Oman, but the ship’s captain chose to ignore the assailants and continued sailing.

Blaze in western Tehran's Janat bazaar raises sabotage questions amid crackdown on merchant protests and ongoing tensions with Washington.

Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was preparing for talks with Washington amid reports that Tehran is prepared to “sacrifice” its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of the American military threat. 

White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are planning to meet on Friday in Istanbul for negotiations toward a new nuclear agreement. According to The Wall Street Journal, senior adviser Jared Kushner is also expected to take part in the talks.

After weeks of high tensions and a buildup of American forces in the region, Washington and Tehran are exploring a new round of negotiations in Istanbul in an effort to avert escalation. The core disputes revolve around Iran’s nuclear program, its missile project and its regional involvement.

Steve Witkoff is set to arrive in Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, as Washington and Tehran prepare to launch talks in the coming days.

Western officials stress that despite the damage sustained during the war, key components of Iran’s missile program remain operational. Countries in the region fear that a military strike would trigger escalation and widespread instability.

The president’s ambassador to NATO said the US does not want to turn Iran into “another Libya,” but is capable of taking military action. Iran’s leader Khamenei warned in a message to the White House: “Any attack on us will this time lead to a regional war.”