Iran’s president signaled a shift toward talks with the United States while the two countries traded blame and conducted military activity in the Persian Gulf, as President Masoud Pezeshkian directed his foreign minister to seek “fair and equitable negotiations” with Washington. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the instruction came as tensions remained high after Iran’s “bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month” and as Iran’s political leadership navigated questions over whether negotiations would follow.
The announcement also landed amid immediate U.S.-Iran incidents in key shipping lanes. The Associated Press reported that a U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone early Tuesday that approached an aircraft carrier, and that the U.S. said Iranian fast boats from the Revolutionary Guard also tried to stop a U.S.-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not immediately acknowledge either incident, according to the report.
U.S. officials framed the outreach to negotiations as part of a willingness to explore diplomacy if Iran engages. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that U.S. President Donald Trump “is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango,” adding that “You need a willing partner to achieve diplomacy” and that special envoy Steve Witkoff was “intent on exploring and discussing” possible talks with Iranian officials.
The shift toward diplomacy represented a change for Pezeshkian, the AP reported, coming after weeks in which Iran’s president had warned Iranians that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control. The AP also reported that the move toward talks appeared to reflect support from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had previously dismissed direct engagement.
As the diplomatic groundwork moved, the AP reported that Turkey was working behind the scenes to host negotiations later this week while Witkoff traveled in the region. A Turkish official later said the location was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. The AP reported that foreign ministers from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been invited to attend if talks take place, citing a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to speak to journalists.
Even with those preparations, the immediate security incidents underscored how difficult de-escalation could be. U.S. Central Command said the drone “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier, with “unclear intent,” and “continued to fly toward the ship despite deescalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters.” Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said to the AP that the Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the USS Abraham Lincoln and that the incident occurred just before sunrise about 500 miles (805 kilometers) from Iran’s southern coast.
In a separate incident later Tuesday, Hawkins said the Revolutionary Guard harassed a merchant vessel flying the American flag and carrying an American crew. The AP reported that Hawkins said two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the tanker Stena Imperative “at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker.” Hawkins said the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the vessel with defensive air support, and the U.S. assessment that the position appeared to be in Iranian territorial waters was consistent with reporting by the U.K.’s maritime trade monitoring center. Iran had warned of a naval drill by the Guard in recent days, the AP said.
The AP reported that Witkoff met Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed disarmament planning for Hamas ahead of possible reconstruction, along with the situation in Iran. Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he warned Witkoff that “Iran has repeatedly proven it cannot be trusted to meet its commitments.” Separate reporting in the AP story also said Israel demands any agreement include removing enriched uranium from Iran, stopping the enrichment of uranium, limiting the creation of ballistic missiles and ending support for Tehran’s proxies, citing an official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Other voices in Washington framed skepticism about reaching a lasting deal. The AP reported that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a hard-liner on Iran who served as CIA director and secretary of state in Trump’s first term, said it was “unimaginable that there can be a deal” and described possible outcomes as limited “understandings,” while expressing that he found long-term stability “unimaginable” as long as the ayatollah remains in power.
As diplomats prepared for potential talks, Iranian messaging signaled that any early engagement would focus narrowly on nuclear issues. Late Monday, the AP reported that a pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen aired an interview with Ali Shamkhani, described in the report as a top adviser to Khamenei on security. The AP said Shamkhani suggested talks would be indirect at the beginning, moving to direct talks only if a deal appeared attainable, and that the talks would “solely focus on nuclear issues,” while stating that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and that “the other side must pay a price in return.” The AP also reported that Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity and said the International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the only country enriching to that level without being armed with a bomb, and noted that Iran had refused requests by the IAEA to inspect sites bombed in the June war.
In the background of the negotiations’ prospects, the AP reported that Trump has included Iran’s nuclear program among its demands for any talks. The report said Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during Israel’s June war against Iran, a factor that may shape what both sides consider achievable in any agreement.