Overview
- President Masoud Pezeshkian instructed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to prepare for negotiations with the United States if talks occur without threats or what he called unreasonable expectations.
- Multiple outlets report a possible meeting in Istanbul on Friday between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Araghchi, though Washington has not publicly confirmed it.
- Iranian officials reiterate that negotiations will address only the nuclear issue and exclude the missile program and broader defense matters.
- The United States has positioned an aircraft carrier strike group in the region as President Donald Trump voices hope for a deal and warns of consequences, while Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cautions that any U.S. attack could trigger a regional war.
- Iran continues enriching uranium up to about 60 percent and has rebuffed some IAEA inspection requests related to sites hit during last June’s conflict.