Here are 10 top developments on Iran-US tensions

1. Iran and the United States are set to meet in Muscat for negotiations focused on Tehran’s nuclear programme, with both sides signalling readiness to revive diplomacy despite sharply diverging expectations over what the talks should cover.
2. Washington has indicated it wants discussions to extend beyond Iran’s nuclear activities to include ballistic missiles, regional armed groups and human rights, as reported by Reuters, this may complicate the already thin prospects for progress at the talks.
3. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington wanted the negotiations to address Iran’s nuclear programme, its ballistic missiles, its support for armed groups across the region and its “treatment of their own people”.
4. Iran has rejected a broader agenda, saying foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff should focus exclusively on nuclear issues during the Oman talks, reported Reuters.
5. Tehran said it would participate in the negotiations “with authority and with the aim of reaching a fair, mutually acceptable and dignified understanding on the nuclear issue”. “We hope the American side will also participate in this process with responsibility, realism and seriousness,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.
6. Iranian leaders remain concerned that Trump could still order military action, as the US Navy builds up forces near Iran, a deployment the president has referred to as a massive “armada”. The naval buildup has followed a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, further heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.
7. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was assessing whether a deal was possible but underscored that military options remained firmly on the table.
8. “While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world,” Leavitt said.
9. Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal could not be reached, intensifying pressure in a standoff marked by mutual threats of airstrikes. Iran has said it would respond harshly to any attack and warned neighbouring countries hosting US bases that they could be targeted if involved in a strike.
10. Negotiators face Iran’s red line on missile talks, with Tehran ruling out discussions on its “defence capabilities, including missiles and their range”. Iran deploys ballistic missile At the same time, Iranian officials told Reuters last week that Tehran could show “flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement as a solution”, while insisting its right to enrich uranium is not negotiable.