Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to push Trump at a meeting Wednesday for Tehran's ballistic missile arsenal to be included in any nuclear deal.

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

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.

Iran rejects U.S. demands to negotiate ballistic missile program as tensions escalate across Middle East despite ongoing diplomatic talks in Oman.

Tehran’s security chief says Israel is attempting to derail talks with Washington and provoke war in the region.

Iran and the United States are set for talks Friday in Oman over Tehran's nuclear program. This comes after Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran in June and Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran’s president apologised on Wednesday to “all those affected” by the protests and the violent crackdown that followed. President Masoud Pezeshkian also said that the country was “not seeking nuclear weapons.