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Monday, February 2, 2026
US’s Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister expected to meet Friday in Istanbul — report
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Left: US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Paris, France, April 17, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP); Right: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool Photo via AP)
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will likely meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, two sources tell Axios.
However, a third source tells the outlet that a Friday meeting is “a best-case scenario.”
Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt have been working to arrange the meeting, according to the report.
Witkoff will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir earlier in the week to discuss Iran.
He will then head to Abu Dhabi to mediate Russia-Ukraine peace talks, before heading for Turkey, according to the report.
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