Türkiye emerges as possible venue for US-Iran talks: Report

WASHINGTON

The White House is open to engaging Iran through diplomatic channels in pursuit of a possible agreement to ease tensions, with Türkiye emerging as a potential venue for the talks, U.S. media has reported.

A senior American official told the Axios news site on Feb. 1 that President Donald Trump’s administration has made clear it is willing to hold such talks as early as this week.

According to the report, Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar are working to organize a meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara between White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials.

U.S. officials told Axios that Trump’s public calls for a deal are genuine and not a prelude to military action, despite Washington’s recent military buildup in the Middle East, which the president described as a “massive armada.”

Tensions have risen in recent weeks as Tehran and Washington exchanged warnings following Trump’s threat of military action over Iran’s deadly crackdown on protests that erupted in late December 2025 over economic grievances and peaked on Jan. 8 and 9.

Pressure intensified after the United States deployed a naval fleet to the region, with Trump warning that time was “running out” for Tehran to reach a deal on its nuclear program, which Western powers believe is aimed at developing an atomic bomb. Iran has repeatedly denied such intentions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Türkiye last week as Ankara stepped up diplomatic efforts to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

During the press conference, Fidan said restarting talks between Tehran and Washington over Iran's nuclear programme is "vital" for reducing tensions over potential U.S. strikes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call that Türkiye was “ready to assume a facilitating role to de-escalate tensions and resolve outstanding issues.” Ankara has previously stated its opposition to any military operation against Iran.

Reported uranium proposal

Meanwhile, Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing a senior Turkish official, reported that Ankara could propose transferring Iran’s enriched uranium to Türkiye as part of a potential nuclear agreement.

The proposal could involve up to 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to as much as 60 percent.

The report recalled a 2010 agreement signed between Türkiye, Brazil and Iran, under which Tehran had planned to send 1,200 kilograms of enriched uranium to Türkiye in exchange for nuclear fuel rods for a research reactor.

That deal ultimately collapsed due to objections from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Russia later took 11,000 kilograms of low-enriched uranium from Iran under a separate arrangement and has recently offered to store Iran’s remaining stockpile if a new agreement is reached.

However, Haaretz noted that the U.S. administration could view Türkiye as a “more reliable custodian” than Russia, citing Trump’s close relationship with Erdoğan.