US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday, expressing that Khamenei should be concerned as the United States increases its military presence in the region. Trump made these remarks during an interview with NBC News, stating that Khamenei should indeed be worried given the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.
This statement from Trump coincided with a report from Axios indicating that planned talks between the US and Iran were on the brink of collapse after US officials refused to relocate the discussions or alter the format. In response to escalating tensions, Trump deployed a US aircraft carrier to the region and did not rule out the possibility of further military actions following previous US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during Israel’s conflict with Iran in June.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that nuclear discussions were set for today in Muscat, expressing gratitude to Oman for facilitating the meeting. A White House official also verified to AFP that the talks were scheduled to take place in Oman.
However, it remains uncertain whether both parties have reached a consensus on the agenda. Iran is pushing to confine the negotiations to addressing its enduring nuclear dispute with Western nations, as reported by Reuters.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a differing perspective, stating that the US is prepared to engage in talks if Iran is willing. Rubio emphasized that any discussions should encompass a broader array of issues, including Iran’s ballistic missile program, support for armed proxy groups across the Middle East, treatment of its citizens, in addition to nuclear concerns.
In a separate development, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reportedly seized two oil tankers with foreign crews in Gulf waters for alleged fuel smuggling, as reported by the Tasnim news agency. The nationalities of the crew and the flags of the tankers involved were not immediately disclosed.
Furthermore, Iranian authorities announced the arrest of a foreign individual and the confiscation of a shipment of melee weapons in the country’s northwest. The IRNA news agency disclosed that a 14-ton shipment containing various professional weapons and riot-related items was intercepted upon entry into Iran. The detained individual’s nationality was not specified, and the seized items reportedly included stun guns, batons, knives, and weapon accessories.
