US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet on 6 February in Istanbul for the first time since last year’s 12-day war to discuss a possible nuclear deal, Axios reported on 2 February, citing informed sources.
If held, the meeting would mark the first direct engagement between US and Iranian officials since negotiations collapsed last year due to the 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran, and comes as Washington intensifies military pressure near the Islamic Republic’s coastline.
A source told Axios that the upcoming meeting between Witkoff and Araghchi on Friday represents “the best case scenario,” while cautioning that the talks are not final until they occur.
The renewed contact follows several days of mediation by Turkiye, Egypt, and Qatar.
According to Axios, the foreign ministers of Turkiye and Egypt spoke again with Araghchi on Monday to coordinate the potential meeting. Iranian state media also reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered negotiations with the administration of US President Donald Trump to resume.
Araghchi publicly signaled Iran’s position the same day. “Iran is ready for diplomacy,” he said.
“But diplomacy is incompatible with pressure, intimidation, and force. We hope that its results will soon become evident.”
Washington’s demands remain unchanged, with Iranian sources telling Reuters last week that Trump is insisting on zero uranium enrichment, limits on Iran’s ballistic missile program, and an end to Tehran’s regional alliances. The Islamic Republic rejects all three demands, considering them violations of its sovereignty.
Two Iranian officials told Reuters that while enrichment remains a red line, Tehran views the missile issue as the more serious obstacle.
Meanwhile, Witkoff is expected to visit Israel before traveling to Istanbul, with the stopover reportedly requested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with CNN, Araghchi said indirect contacts with Washington through regional intermediaries had been “fruitful,” while warning that a wider war would be “a disaster for everybody.”
He stressed that any talks must be confined to Iran’s nuclear program, rejecting US demands related to missiles or regional allies as “impossible things,” and said a deal was achievable if sanctions were lifted in return.
He also said Iran remains prepared to defend itself, citing lessons learned from last year’s fighting, but emphasized that readiness was aimed at preventing war rather than seeking it.
His comments followed warnings from Iran’s leadership that any US attack would trigger a regional war, as well as statements by senior officials that a framework for negotiations is taking shape despite mounting military pressure in West Asia.