A photograph shows an anti-US billboard displayed on a building in Tehran's Valiasr Square on Feb. 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Iran and the United States have said they were going ahead with nuclear talks in Oman later this week, even as President Donald Trump piled pressure on Tehran's supreme leader by saying he should be "very worried."
Doubts had swirled about the fate of the negotiations after a report earlier on Feb. 4 that the talks between the bitter foes were falling apart due to disagreements about the format and the venue.
The uncertainty had increased fears of renewed U.S. military action against Tehran, amid soaring tensions since Iran violently put down some of the most serious protests against its rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said nuclear talks were now "scheduled" for Feb. 6 in Muscat. "I'm grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements," he said on X.
A White House official also confirmed to AFP that the meeting would happen in Oman on Feb. 6.
Diplomats had earlier said the meeting would happen in Türkiye. But the Axios news outlet said the U.S. was on the verge of pulling out, as Iran disputed both the location and whether its ballistic missile program should be included.
But Trump, who has sharply built up the U.S. military presence in the region and refused to rule out new military action, continued to up the pressure on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"I would say he should be very worried," Trump said on Feb. 4 in an interview with U.S. broadcaster NBC News.
Trump also said that Iran had eyed a new nuclear facility after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel's June war against the Islamic republic.
Trump has sent a US aircraft carrier group, which he calls an "armada,” to the region and one of its planes shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday. Iran has threatened retaliation against U.S. targets in the region if attacked.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Wednesday that the United States was "ready" to meet Iran, but insisted that discussions must cover Tehran's missile and nuclear programs to be "meaningful.”
