The presence of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the military’s Central Command, in his dress uniform at the talks in Muscat, the Omani capital, served as a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships were now off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has taken the unusual step of tapping military leaders for high-level diplomacy, sending the top U.S. commander in the Middle East to talks over Iran’s nuclear program and positioning the Army secretary as a key negotiator on ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Iran extended the prison sentence of a Nobel peace laureate and detained several prominent reformist figures, escalating a crackdown on dissents weeks after security forces killed thousands of people to quell nationwide protests.

The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, sent a blunt warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ahead of the talks.

US President Donald Trump has for the first time involved the country's top military officials in key negotiations with Iran and Russia.

IRAN’S Supreme Leader has skipped a key military event – fuelling rumours about security as Trump’s military build up across the region. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was mysteriously

Iran issued one of its most severe warnings toward the United States after a senior military spokesman threatened to “set fire to their world” if any action was taken against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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