US and Iran Move Toward Direct Talks as Military Tensions Surge

Senior US and Iranian officials are expected to hold rare face-to-face talks in Istanbul on February 6 as tensions between the two countries edge toward open conflict, The New York Times (NYT) reported on February 2, citing regional and Iranian officials familiar with the planning.

According to the report, the meeting is expected to bring together US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, with officials from Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt also present.

The talks are aimed at de-escalating the crisis after weeks of US military threats and Iran’s refusal to negotiate under pressure. Trump has warned of possible strikes on Iran unless it ends its nuclear program, curbs ballistic missiles, and halts support for regional proxy militias.

The discussions would mark a rare direct engagement at a moment of heightened risk, following US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year and Washington’s recent buildup of naval and air forces in the region, NYT wrote.

While Iran has publicly rejected negotiations under threat, Iranian officials told the NYT that Tehran may be willing to suspend or shut down parts of its nuclear program as part of a broader deal, potentially reviving elements of earlier diplomatic frameworks.

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Russia also figures into the evolving diplomacy. According to the NYT, Iran has conveyed to Moscow that it could agree to ship enriched uranium to Russia, as it did under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the issue has “long been on the agenda,” underscoring Moscow’s role as a potential intermediary and guarantor.

Iran has earlier received its first Mi-28NE Night Hunter attack helicopter from Russia, marking a key milestone in a 2023 procurement deal amid growing military pressure from the US.

For Russia, deeper involvement in Iran-related negotiations comes as it seeks to strengthen strategic ties with Tehran amid its own confrontation with the West over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Previously, Ukraine had designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, adding that the European Union had “practically agreed” to take the same step and that “European procedures are currently underway.”

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