Dispute Over Venue May Derail Iran-US Nuclear Talks, Push Trump Toward Military Action: Report

Last Updated:February 05, 2026, 01:03 IST

Trump issues blunt warning to Tehran, says Ayatollah Khamenei “should be very worried” as nuclear talks with Tehran teeter on the brink.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses a meeting with students in Tehran. (IMAGE: AFP FILE)

Planned nuclear talks between the United States and Iran are on the brink of collapse after Washington rejected Tehran’s last-minute demands to change the location and structure of the negotiations on Wednesday.

According to a report by Axios, which first reported the development, the two sides had earlier agreed to meet in Istanbul on Friday, with several West Asian countries participating as observers. However, Iran informed the US on Tuesday that it wanted the talks moved to Oman and limited strictly to a bilateral format focused only on nuclear issues.

The Iranian side argued that this would prevent discussions on Iran’s missile programme and regional activities, which remain key priorities for Washington and its allies.

US officials considered the request but ultimately rejected it on Wednesday.

“We told them it is this or nothing, and they said, ‘Ok, then nothing,’" one American official was quoted as saying by Axios.

The standoff has now thrown the entire diplomatic process into uncertainty.

“There is a good chance the talks won’t happen now at all this week," another US official said, adding that Washington remains ready to engage if Iran returns to the original plan.

The officials warned that failure to hold talks could have serious consequences.

“We want to reach a real deal quickly or people will look at other options," a senior US official said, in a clear reference to President Donald Trump’s repeated threats of possible military action.

Trump himself struck a sharply confrontational tone on Wednesday when asked whether Iran’s Supreme Leader should be concerned about the current situation. “I would say he should be very worried, yeah, he should be," the US President told reporters.

Behind the scenes, the original plan involved two parallel tracks — direct US-Iran discussions on reviving a nuclear agreement, and multilateral talks with regional countries on issues such as missiles, Iran’s support for proxy groups and human rights concerns.

But US officials told the news outlet that given Iran’s recent behaviour and the lack of progress in earlier engagements, they are increasingly sceptical about the prospects of any meaningful deal.

“We didn’t want to be flexible here because if there is a deal it has to be real. We didn’t want to go back to the old way of doing things," one official was quoted as saying.

“We are not naive about the Iranians. If there is a real conversation to have we will have it, but we are not going to waste our time," another US official said, summing up Washington’s position.

The report noted that the current impasse could block the diplomatic path altogether and potentially push Trump toward considering military options if talks fail to resume.

News world Dispute Over Venue May Derail Iran-US Nuclear Talks, Push Trump Toward Military Action: Report

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