(NewsNation) — Diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran are slated for Friday, though the venue and format have changed after a pair of military flare-ups in the Middle East.
Representatives will meet in Oman instead of Turkey, following a request from Iran, a source in the region familiar with the discussions told NewsNation.
The regime has also requested the meeting be bilateral, which makes it unclear whether the negotiations will now be just between the U.S. and Iran, or if other Arab and Muslim countries will join.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister will attend, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
US shoots down Iranian drone, hours after separate boat incident
The changes to Friday’s talks follow a pair of military incidents involving U.S. and Iranian military forces.
U.S. forces took out an Iranian drone Tuesday that they said was “aggressively approaching” the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The aircraft carrier was about 500 miles from Iran’s coast when the Iranian Shahed-139 drone approached the ship, U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told NewsNation.
“The Iranian drone continued to fly toward the ship despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters,” Hawkins said.
Hours earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S-flagged, U.S.-crewed merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Central Command, two boats and a drone approached the ship at high speed and threatened to board and seize the tanker before a U.S. destroyer arrived.
Trump on Iran: ‘We’re are negotiating with them right now’
President Donald Trump has refused to rule out further military action in Iran, where thousands of protesters have been killed or jailed in recent weeks.
Last fall, Trump directed the U.S. to carry out its largest B-2 bomber mission ever, dubbed “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which struck Iran’s key nuclear sites.
“I don’t think they want that happening again,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “But they would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now, yes.”
Iran reportedly only wants to discuss nuclear issues, not its ballistic missile program or proxy militias, which the Trump administration has signaled must be part of any deal.
NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside, Kevin Bohn and Anna Kutz contributed to this report.
