fied reports suggest the country’s president has ordered the revival of the negotiations.
Tehran said on Monday that it is examining several diplomatic processes pitched by countries in the region to ease tensions with Washington, adding that it expects a framework for talks in the coming days.
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The announcement comes as Tehran and Washington appear to be pulling back from the threat of military action.
The Reuters news agency, citing unnamed Iranian and US officials, said Tehran and Washington will hold talks on Friday in Istanbul, which will be attended by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi.
The AFP news agency quoted an unnamed regional official as saying that a “potential meeting” was likely to take place on Friday in Turkiye thanks to diplomacy involving Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and Oman.
US President Donald Trump sent warships to the Middle East after Iran violently cracked down on mass protests in January, but then called for Tehran to make a deal to resume talks on its nuclear programme, which were abandoned in June when Israel and the US attacked Iran.
On Sunday, Trump said the US was talking with Iran. Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has now confirmed that indirect negotiations are ongoing.
“Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages,” he said on Monday without giving details on the content of the negotiations.
Several points have been addressed, and we are examining and finalising the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days.”
The state news agency IRNA reported that Foreign Minister Araghchi held telephone calls with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye to discuss the latest developments.
Later, the Fars news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered the resumption of nuclear talks.
“Iran and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear file,” Fars reported without specifying a date. The report was also carried by the government newspaper Iran and the Shargh daily.
Araghchi is due to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff for negotiations against this backdrop, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported on Monday. Neither Tehran nor Washington has verified that a meeting has been arranged.
Meanwhile, a White House official said Witkoff would arrive in Israel on Tuesday, where he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Reuters reported.
The reports of scheduled talks come as Iran has been bracing for a potential US attack, as US aircraft carriers and fighter jets are sitting in the Indian Ocean, close enough to assist a strike.
Trump threatened Iran in the wake of mass protests there in which thousands of people were killed in January. The demonstrations, which were triggered by economic distress and the collapse of the country’s currency due to international sanctions, morphed into a direct challenge to the government.
However, Trump’s threats have since transformed into a demand for a nuclear deal as the US and European Union are concerned that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its programme is strictly civilian.
While Iran suggested on Monday that it is moving closer to agreeing to reopen talks, it is understood that the US has set some conditions.
Iranian sources told Reuters that for talks to resume, Trump has demanded that Iran agree to end enrichment of uranium, curtail its missile programme and halt support to its network of allied armed groups in the region.
In the past, Iran has shown flexibility in discussing the nuclear file, but missiles and regional allies have long been treated as nonnegotiable.
It is not clear whether Iran will change its position now that the country urgently needs sanctions relief to improve the economy and stave off future unrest.
In June, American and Iranian officials kicked off negotiations in Oman, but the process stalled after Israel attacked Iran and then the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
On Sunday, Trump said Iran was “seriously talking” with the US, but insisted, “We have very big, powerful ships heading in that direction.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has also maintained a defiant tone, warning on Sunday that any attack would result in a “regional war”.
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