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.

By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/DUBAI, Feb 4 - The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remained at odds

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to diplomats at a summit in Tehran, signaled that Iran would stick to its position that it must be able to enrich uranium — a major point of contention with President Donald Trump,

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.

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 is ready to participate in “fair and just” nuclear talks with the United States amid rising tensions between the two nations, but will not be dictated to, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday.