Steve Witkoff (Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN/EPA)

US president's special envoy is expected to meet with Ukraine Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi together with representatives of several Arab and Muslim countries to discuss a possible nuclear deal. About this reports media outlet Axios, citing two informed sources and an unnamed U.S. official.

According to them, the meeting is scheduled for February 6 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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The fourth interviewee said that these talks are "the best case scenario" but cautioned that nothing is final until it happens.

This will be the first meeting between representatives of Washington and Tehran after the failure of negotiations and the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, as well as the US strikes on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities in June 2025.

The talks will take place during a large-scale build-up of the US presence in the Persian Gulf, as well as against the backdrop of US president Donald Trump that a quick agreement is the only way to avoid a military conflict.

The American official noted that the summit in Istanbul will focus on an attempt to agree on a package deal that will prevent war. The official emphasized that the Trump administration hopes that Iran will come to the meeting ready to make the necessary compromises.

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According to an Israeli official, Vitkoff will travel to his country on February 2 and meet with the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu the next day.

The source noted that the meeting was being held at the request of the head of the Israeli government.

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"Witkoff will also meet with Israel Defense Forces chief of Staff general Eyal Zamir, who just returned from a rare trip to Washington. Zamir met Joint Chiefs chairman general Dan Caine to brief him on Israel's defensive and offensive plans in a scenario of war with Iran," Axios reports.

Later, Vitkoff will participate in trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US on February 4-5 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The US president's son-in-law is also expected to attend Jared Kushner.

From there, Vitkoff and Kushner will travel to Qatar on February 5 to meet with prime minister sheikh Mohammed al-Thani on Iran.

The next day, U.S. negotiators will meet with Iranian FM Araghchi in Istanbul. According to a US official, the summit is also expected to be attended by the heads of diplomacy of Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.

The Trump administration has long demanded that any deal cover Iran's nuclear and missile programs, as well as proxy forces The Islamic Republic in the region, but this is incompatible with Tehran's position that only the nuclear issue should be discussed.

It is not yet clear how Witkoff and Araghchi will try to bridge this gap, Axios concludes.

  • On January 26, the US president said that the situation with Iran is changing, as he has sent a "great armada," but the politician believes that Tehran really wants to make a deal.
  • The headof the Iranian regime Khamenei threatened regional war if the US launches strikes against the Islamic Republic.
  • On February 1, Iran's FM said that despite the threat of a US strike, he was confident of reaching an agreement with Washington and preventing armed confrontation.