Turkey says location of Iran-US meeting still unknown
Turkish officials have told Middle East Eye that a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday might now be held outside Turkey.
Araghchi is currently expected to meet US President Donald Trump’s key negotiators in the Turkish city, but officials in the Ankara government now say the negotiations may take place in a location other than Istanbul.
“The exact location of the meeting has not yet been finalised,” a Turkish official told MEE. “What is important for us is the establishment of a peace table. We are ready to contribute wherever the diplomatic table is established.”
The doubts expressed by Turkish sources follow a string of sceptical remarks made to Reuters by an Iranian diplomatic source.
The source said that the planned meeting would show whether the US “intends to conduct serious and result-orientated” talks, adding that Iran was “neither optimistic nor pessimistic” over the prospects of the discussion.
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Iranian diplomats had already ruled out negotiating over Tehran’s defensive capabilities, which include its ballistic missile programme.
If they go ahead, the talks, which are supposed to address Iran’s nuclear programme and to find a way of avoiding open conflict between Iran and the US, will be the first since the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites last summer.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed the planned meeting in a social media post on Tuesday, with some caveats.
“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists - one free from threats and unreasonable expectations - to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” Pezeshkian said on X.
Iran’s president said he had given the go-ahead for negotiations following “requests from friendly governments in the region”.
“These negotiations shall be conducted within the framework of our national interests,” Pezeshkian said.
Given that talks have in the past been scheduled before strikes on Iran, the diplomatic source told Reuters that Tehran was at its “maximum defensive readiness” and was prepared for any scenario.
On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that any US strike on Iran would result in a regional war.
Then Ali Shamkhani, a key advisor to Khamenei, told Lebanese media that the US “must offer something in return” if Iran were to reduce its level of uranium enrichment, Press TV reported.
'Massive armada'
Last week, Trump said that a “massive armada” was on its way to Iran and would attack with “speed and violence” unless Tehran cut a deal with the US.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump drew comparisons with the operation that led to the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but said the fleet deployed towards Iran was “larger” than the one sent to South America.
“Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” he wrote.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly 'Come to the Table' and negotiate a fair and equitable deal - NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS - one that is good for all parties.”
A US carrier strike group is now in the region, where it could support any potential strike on Iran.
Sources familiar with the matter told CNN last week that the US president was considering options including air strikes targeting Iran’s leaders, nuclear sites, and government institutions.
Iran is believed to have thousands of missiles and drones within range of US bases in the Middle East, and has threatened to strike them, as well as Israel.
The diplomatic activity that has led to the scheduling of the Istanbul meeting on Friday has involved Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, with each country looking to find a way of avoiding war between the US and Iran.
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s president, Mohammed bin Zayed, said on Tuesday that the region did not need an Iran-US war, but said that Iran “needs to reach a deal”.
Iran and the US held several rounds of indirect nuclear talks in April and May 2025 before Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in June, which was followed by US strikes.
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