The U.S. and Iran are due to hold talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue to limit negotiations to its nuclear programme, a regional official said, with a build-up of U.S. forces in the Middle East raising fears of a confrontation,
Reuters reports.
Iran wanted the meeting to take place in Oman as a continuation of previous rounds of talks held in the Gulf Arab country on its nuclear programme, asking for a change of location from Turkey to avoid any expansion of the discussions to issues such as Tehran's ballistic missiles, the regional official said.
Iran has said it will not make concessions on its formidable ballistic missile programme -- one of the biggest in the Middle East -- calling that a red line in negotiations.
Tehran, which says it replenished its stockpile of ballistic missiles since coming under attack from Israel last year, has warned that it will unleash its missiles to defend the Islamic Republic if its security is under threat.
The regional official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran had since the beginning stressed that it would only discuss its nuclear programme, while Washington wanted other issues on the agenda.
Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, rekindling fears of an escalation between Washington and Tehran.
