WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua)-- The Trump administration has changed its mind and agreed on Wednesday afternoon to hold nuclear talks with Iran in Oman on Friday, according to the latest report from U.S. media outlet Axios.
Earlier on Wednesday, Axios, citing two U.S. officials, reported that the Friday talks appeared to have been cancelled since the White House has rejected Tehran's demands to change the location and format of talks planned for Friday.
The talks will be held in Oman, as Iran insisted, after several Middle Eastern leaders urgently lobbied the Trump administration not to walk away, two U.S. officials told Axios.
At least nine countries from the Middle East reached out to the White House at the highest levels strongly urging the U.S. not to cancel the meeting, said the report.
"They asked us to keep the meeting and listen to what the Iranians have to say. We have told the Arabs that we will do the meeting if they insist. But we are very skeptical," one U.S. official was quoted as saying.
The U.S. and Iran had previously agreed to meet on Friday in Istanbul, with some other Middle Eastern countries participating as observers.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed on X that talks were "scheduled to be held in Muscat on about 10 am Friday," adding that "I'm grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday expressed doubt over whether the talks would produce meaningful results.
"The United States is prepared to meet with them," Rubio told reporters. "If the Iranians want to meet, we're ready. They've expressed an interest in meeting and talking."
"I'm not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we're going to try to find out," he added.
Iran reportedly proposed on Tuesday moving the talks to Oman and holding them in a bilateral format focused only on nuclear issues.
Tensions remain high between the United States and Iran. U.S. Central Command said a U.S. fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone on Tuesday after it approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea with unclear intent, causing no injuries or damage. ■