Overview
- Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar are working to organize a meeting in Ankara this week between White House envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Iranian officials, according to officials cited by Axios.
- Senior U.S. officials say Washington has told Tehran through multiple channels that it is open to a meeting to negotiate a deal.
- President Trump says he hopes to reach a “fair and equitable” agreement that ensures no nuclear weapons, while stressing no final decision has been made on a strike.
- The U.S. has positioned major naval assets near Iran, including the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, as Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns any U.S. attack would trigger a regional war.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says confidence-building efforts by “friendly countries” are proving fruitful even as he warns of disinformation risks, and Israeli officials privately caution that Tehran could use talks as cover to preserve core capabilities.