Iran Signals Readiness To Suspend Nuclear Programme Ahead Of Istanbul Talks With US: Report

Last Updated:February 03, 2026, 10:50 IST

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Iran’s foreign minister on Friday. Officials from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to attend.

Tehran Offers To Ship Enriched Uranium To Russia As Nuclear Talks Resume. (Image: AP/File)

Iran has indicated it is willing to shut down or suspend its nuclear programme as American officials prepare for talks in Istanbul, according to a report by the New York Times.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet Iran’s foreign minister on Friday. Officials from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt are also expected to attend. These are the first face-to-face talks since President Donald Trump moved major US naval assets into striking range of Iran.

What we know about possible US-Iran deal?

Iran is offering significant concessions in an effort to calm tensions in the Middle East. Tehran has informed the United States that it is ready to suspend its nuclear programme. However, it has said it would prefer a proposal made last year to create a regional consortium to produce nuclear power.

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, recently met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow with a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Iran signalled it could ship its enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, similar to what was done under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader, said Iran would not remove its stored nuclear materials but was open to reducing enrichment from 60 per cent to 20 per cent, if it received something in return.

Diplomatic signals amid US military posturing

President Trump said on Monday, “We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones … and we have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it all works out." He added that Tehran appeared willing to engage and that a deadline had been set for discussions on nuclear weapons, though he did not specify a timeframe.

Iran has said it expects progress on a framework to restart nuclear talks. Tehran said it was examining several diplomatic processes proposed by countries in the region to ease tensions and expected a framework for talks in the coming days.

Earlier, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal but warned that the outcome would become clear if diplomacy failed. His remarks came after warnings from Supreme Leader Khamenei, who said any US military action would spark a wider regional conflict.

In videos circulating on social media, Khamenei said, “The Americans should know if they start a war, this time it will be a regional war." He added that Iran would not be intimidated by US military signalling.

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