Iran claims talks with the United States are underway, while Trump warns Khamenei

(Patria) - Iran announced on Wednesday that talks with the United States are proceeding as planned later this week, while President Donald Trump pressured Tehran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying he should be "very worried," AFP reported.

Doubts have emerged about the fate of the talks, with a report earlier on Wednesday suggesting the talks were failing, leading to a sharp rise in oil prices and increased expectations of US military action.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the nuclear talks are now scheduled for Friday in Oman. Diplomats had earlier said the meeting would be held on Friday in Turkey.

"The nuclear talks with the United States are scheduled to be held in Muscat," Araghchi said in a post on social network X, thanking Oman for "making all the necessary arrangements".

There was no immediate confirmation from the United States. But Trump, who has sharply increased the US military presence in the region and refused to rule out further military action, continued to increase pressure on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"I would say he should be very worried, yes, he should be," Trump said on Wednesday in an interview with US television NBC News. "As you know, they are negotiating with us."

Trump also said that Iran had been considering a new nuclear facility after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Israel's war in June against the Islamic Republic.

"They were thinking about starting a new facility in another part of the country," Trump told NBC. "We found out about it and I said, if you do that, we will do very bad things to you."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States was ready to meet with Iran this week, but insisted that the talks must also cover their missile and nuclear programs.

"If the Iranians want to meet, we are ready," Rubio told reporters, without confirming the meeting on Friday. "If they change their minds, we are fine with that too."

Rubio said that US envoy Steve Witkoff was ready to meet with Iran in Turkey, but then received "conflicting reports" on whether Tehran had agreed.

"It is still being worked out," he said about the location for the talks, speaking before the Iranian foreign minister's comments.

In previous talks about its nuclear program, Iran has ruled out talks about its missiles, presenting the weapons as a means of self-defense to which every country is entitled.