White House: US-Iran nuclear talks still scheduled despite drone incident

Talks between the United States and Iran remain scheduled for later this week despite rising tensions in the Gulf, the White House has said.

On February 3, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that diplomatic engagement is still on track, even after a recent military confrontation involving an Iranian drone, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

"I just spoke with special envoy [Steve] Witkoff, and these talks as of right now are still scheduled," she told reporters.

Leavitt stressed that President Donald Trump remains committed to diplomatic efforts, adding that he is “always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango."

Her remarks came shortly after the US military shot down an Iranian drone that approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. According to the US military, an Iranian Shahed-139 drone flew towards the carrier “with unclear intent” and was intercepted by an F-35 fighter jet after it “aggressively” approached the vessel.

Leavitt confirmed the incident but reiterated that negotiations with Tehran later this week are still expected to proceed.

The United States and Iran are anticipated to hold nuclear talks in Oman on February 6, according to an Axios report. The Trump administration reportedly agreed to Tehran’s request to move the venue from Türkiye. Discussions are also continuing over whether regional Arab and Muslim countries will participate in the negotiations.

President Donald Trump has previously warned that military escalation remains possible if diplomatic efforts fail. With US warships moving closer to Iran, he cautioned that “bad things” would probably happen if an agreement could not be reached.

Speaking to reporters on February 2, Trump said the administration had “talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it all works out”.

By Aghakazim Guliyev