Iranian and American officials will begin face-to-face talks in Oman today, after weeks of threats of military action from Donald Trump.
The US is sending its Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the Muscat summit, where he will meet with Tehran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi.
This comes amid a continued buildup of US naval forces near Iran, which Mr Trump has described as an "armada".
He has repeatedly threatened to take military action since the Iranian regime launched a bloody crackdown on protesters who took to the streets of cities across the country last month.
While his rhetoric has cooled somewhat from its bombastic peak, the White House has asserted that the president remains willing to forgo diplomacy.
His press secretary, Caroline Leavitt, told reporters on Thursday: “As these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options available to him, in addition to diplomacy, as commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world.”
