US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to land in Israel on Tuesday for pivotal meetings with senior Israeli officials ahead of high-stakes talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Türkiye.
Witkoff’s activity comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s increased pressure on Iran to reach a new nuclear deal or face military action.
Discussions in Israel
Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Army Chief Eyal Zamir, reported Reuters citing two senior Israeli officials.
The discussions will likely focus on Iran, amid soaring tensions and massive US military buildup in the region. Tehran has recently signaled readiness to resume nuclear negotiations with the US.
In light of this, Witkoff’s meetings in Israel will be “preparatory,” a third official told Reuters. It will also follow up on talks held over the weekend between Zamir and his US counterpart Dan Caine in Washington.
Iran Ready for Talks
Following weeks of heightened tensions, Iran said it was ready to start negotiations with the US. On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the start of nuclear talks with the US, according to Fars news agency.
Furthermore, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that “several points have been addressed and we are examining and finalizing the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days.”
In the same context, Foreign Minister Araghchi said on Monday that the government was ready for negotiations with the US, suggesting it could start imminently.
“(Iran’s enemies) are talking about diplomacy today, even though Iran has always been ready for this option, provided there is mutual respect and consideration of interests,” he said.
Witkoff-Araghchi Meeting
Negotiations between the US and Iran will take place in Türkiye. Witkoff will meet with Araghchi in Istanbul on Friday, Iranian and US officials told Reuters.
A regional diplomat said that representatives from several Arab and Muslim countries, including Qatar and Egypt, will attend the meeting in Istanbul. “There will be bilateral, trilateral and other meetings,” he said.
Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar have been intensifying diplomatic efforts to arrange the meeting, in an attempt to de-escalate tensions and avert a potential military confrontation that could trigger a regional war.
Nuclear Negotiations
Trump has set three conditions to resume talks with Iran and refrain from military actions. These conditions are “Zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran’s ballistic missile program and ending its support for regional proxies,” according to Iranian sources.
While emphasizing that “diplomacy is ongoing,” an Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran maintains that the US abandon preconditions to resume talks.
He also said that Iran was “ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium, accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution.”
But Tehran demanded that the US move its military assets away from Iran before talks begin. “Now the ball is in Trump’s court,” the official said.
US ‘Armada’ Threats
Trump has intensified a pressure campaign on Iran amid the brutal crackdown on anti-government protests. He has repeatedly highlighted a “massive armada” heading toward Iran, threatening military action if a nuclear deal is not reached.
Despite this significant military buildup and reciprocal threats, Trump later suggested that Iran wants to make a deal, while the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, talked about “progress” towards a framework for negotiations.
On Monday, Trump told reporters at the White House that the talks with Iran were underway, doubling down on his “deal or strike” threat.
“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones – the biggest and the best – and we have talks going on with Iran and we’ll see how it all works out … if we can work something out, that would be great and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen,” Trump said.
