Overview
- U.S. and Iranian representatives held indirect talks in Muscat on Friday with Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Abbas Araghchi present alongside regional U.S. commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
- The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group is deployed near Iran, and President Trump told Axios he may send a second carrier while warning of very hard measures if no agreement is reached.
- The Wall Street Journal reports the administration is weighing additional pressure such as seizing tankers carrying Iranian oil, though market impacts are a concern.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Trump in Washington today after briefing Kushner and Witkoff, bringing intelligence on Iran’s missile program and urging limits on missiles and proxy networks in any accord.
- Araghchi says Tehran is completely serious about talks to avoid airstrikes but cites a large wall of mistrust, with Iran signaling it will discuss nuclear issues but not missiles as IAEA access to more than 400 kilograms of uranium at damaged sites remains unresolved.