Iran stepped up its crackdown on Monday after recent protests, making more arrests while holding the door open to Washington for further nuclear negotiations. Alongside its defiant pronouncements, Iran has signalled it could come to some kind of deal to dial back its nuclear programme to avoid further conflict with Washington.

The presence of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American 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.

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

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.

Khamenei has joined the annual session every year since taking leadership in 1989 -- even through the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a report.

Plans for U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Friday are back on, after several Middle Eastern leaders urgently lobbied the Trump administration on Wednesday afternoon not to follow through on threats to walk away,

Trump been ratcheting up threats against Iran over the past several weeks, urging a nuclear deal and increasing U.S military presence in the region.

Iran has drawn a clear red line. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran will never give up uranium enrichment, even if war is imposed. Speaking after indirect nuclear talks with the United States in Oman,