According to two insiders privy to discussions between Iran and the United States, negotiations between the two nations are reportedly on the verge of collapse, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The U.S. administration has apparently rejected Iran’s latest demands, opting to uphold the initially planned location and structure for the meeting scheduled for Friday.

Although Iran had initially agreed to a gathering in Turkey, with other Middle Eastern countries observing, Tehran is now pushing for a direct, exclusive dialogue with the United States.

Experts on Iranian affairs interpret this shift as an effort by Iran to avoid scrutiny over its missile arsenal, aiming to steer the conversation towards nuclear issues alone.

Senior Iranian officials have informed Reuters that the U.S.’s reluctance to include ‘non-nuclear’ topics in the discussions could jeopardize the upcoming talks in Oman, emphasizing that Iran is “completely prepared to engage with the U.S. solely on nuclear matters.”

An individual familiar with the negotiations mentioned that the U.S. essentially gave Iran an ultimatum, which Iran responded to by opting out of the talks.

The source said the only other option on the table was the use of military force if Iran does not compromise on the location. 

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a meeting of the heads of the three branches of government in Tehran on Sunday

Two sources familiar with conversations between Iranand the U.S. tell the Daily Mail that talks are falling apart between the two countries

Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value, in Tehran on January 8

The Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, a NATO base, has also reportedly been forced into round-the-clock overdrive to handle the ‘operational tempo’ as troops and hardware are funneled toward the Middle East region in anticipation for what comes next.

The Daily Mail reached out to the White House on this story. They did not immediately respond. 

Iran’s president confirmed on Tuesday that he had ordered the start of talks with the United States following Trump’s renewed warning.

Trump has maintained he is hopeful that Washington will ‘work something out’ with Tehran, but also warned that ‘bad things would happen’ if a deal was not agreed.

Tehran has insisted it wants diplomacy, while promising a decisive response to any aggression.

‘I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists – one free from threats and unreasonable expectations – to pursue fair and equitable negotiations,’ President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X.

The talks followed requests ‘from friendly governments’, he added. 

Iran has repeatedly stressed that any talks should remain focused solely on the nuclear issue, rejecting the possibility of negotiations over its missile program or defense capabilities.

In an interview with CNN broadcast on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had lost trust in Washington as a negotiating partner but a deal on the nuclear issue remained achievable.

Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting in Tehran

Iranians attend an anti–government protest in Tehran

‘So I see the possibility of another talk if the US negotiation team follows what President Trump said: to come to a fair and equitable deal to ensure that there is no nuclear weapons,’ he said.

Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington were abandoned last year after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran in June, triggering a 12–day war.

The Israeli strikes hit nuclear and military facilities, as well as residential areas, killing military commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others. The US briefly joined the conflict, carrying out strikes on key nuclear sites.

Iran responded with drone and missile attacks on Israel, as well as by targeting a US military base in Qatar, its largest in the Middle East.

Since his return to office in January last year, Trump has reinstated his ‘maximum pressure’ policy of sanctions against Iran, piling additional pain on a floundering economy.

Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Tehran in December before evolving into wider nationwide anti–government demonstrations that triggered a deadly crackdown by the authorities.

Iranian officials have acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest, but insist that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to ‘terrorist acts’.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US–based NGO, says it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher.

On Tuesday, the NGO said it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests, with further detentions ongoing.