Washington/Tehran, Feb 2 (.) White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet on Friday in Istanbul for talks aimed at reviving a nuclear agreement, according to two Axios sources.
A third source from the publication, reportedly cautioned that while Friday represents the “best-case scenario,” plans remain fluid and the meeting is not final until it takes place.
If confirmed, the talks would mark the first direct engagement between senior US and Iranian officials since negotiations collapsed and the two countries were drawn into a 12-day war last June.
The prospective meeting comes amid a major US military buildup in the Gulf amid President Donald Trump’s repeated warnings that only a rapid diplomatic breakthrough can avert further military confrontation with Tehran.
As such, the initiative has been driven by intense regional diplomacy over recent days, with Turkey, Egypt and Qatar working behind the scenes to bring Washington and Tehran back to the table.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Egypt again spoke with Araghchi to discuss the framework and timing of a possible meeting.
Iranian state media also reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian had instructed officials to pursue renewed negotiations with the Trump administration.
Araghchi struck a cautiously open tone in remarks on Monday, saying Iran remained committed to diplomacy but setting clear conditions. “Diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, intimidation, and force,” he said. “We hope that its results will soon become evident.”
However, for now at least, officials on all sides are emphasising caution. But the prospects of Washington–Tehran talks, even tentative ones, marks an unexpected renewal of resuming diplomacy at a moment when tensions are at an all-time high, and neither side seemed particularly interested in approaching the table.
Behind the scenes, however, the two sides still remain very far apart, as neither side is willing to accede to some of the core demands of the other.
The Trump administration has long insisted that any agreement must address not only Iran’s nuclear programme but also its ballistic missile capabilities and its support for regional proxy terror militias, while Tehran has repeatedly rejected that approach, arguing that only the nuclear file is open for negotiation.
The planned Istanbul talks are also unfolding against a busy diplomatic schedule for Witkoff. According to an Israeli official, he is set to travel to Israel, where he will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday at Netanyahu’s request.
Witkoff is also expected to meet IDF Chief of Staff Gen Eyal Zamir, who recently returned from Washington after briefing US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Dan Caine on Israel’s defensive and offensive planning in the event of a conflict with Iran.
From Israel, Witkoff is scheduled to travel to Abu Dhabi for trilateral peace talks involving Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday and Thursday, before heading to Turkey for the highly anticipated meeting with Araghchi.
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