Washington pulled out of the Iran talks scheduled for February 6 after Tehran proposed changing the format, Axios reported, citing U.S. officials.
According to the outlet, Iran insisted on moving the meeting from Istanbul to Oman and wanted to narrow the agenda strictly to the nuclear program, dropping other issues, including ballistic missiles. The United States rejected the proposal on February 4.
“We told them: either it’s this—or it’s nothing. They said, ‘Fine, then it’s nothing,’” a senior U.S. official said. He stressed, however, that if Iran is willing to return to the original format, Washington is ready to hold a meeting as soon as this week or next.
“We want to get to a real agreement quickly. Otherwise, people will start looking at other options,” the same official added, alluding to Donald Trump’s repeated statements about the possibility of using military force.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to the outlet’s request.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump raised the possibility of a military strike on Iran, but in late January he said Tehran and Washington had entered into talks. He added that the next steps on Iran would depend on their outcome.
On February 4, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington intends to discuss not only Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, but also Tehran’s support for terrorist groups in the Middle East and the Iranian authorities’ domestic policy toward their own population. Iran, in response, stressed that it is prepared to negotiate only over the nuclear program.