Moving Iran talks from Turkey to Oman deepens Ankara’s PKK concerns
Ankara is brushing off Tehran’s venue switch to Oman, but fears Iran’s nuclear-only stance is shrinking diplomatic space and heightening the risk of US military escalation.
After Iran pushed this week's talks to move from Istanbul to Muscat, Turkey’s main concern is that Tehran’s refusal to engage Washington beyond the nuclear file is narrowing diplomatic options and increasing the risk of further regional escalation.
Turkey says it remains ready to support US-Iran diplomacy wherever talks are held. But Tehran’s last-minute shift from Istanbul to Muscat, along with rising military tensions in the Gulf, is sharpening Ankara’s concerns that diplomatic space is shrinking as the risks of security spillovers along Turkey’s borders are growing.
US and Iranian officials had been set to meet in Istanbul on Friday to seek an off-ramp from escalating tensions, with participation expected from Turkey, as well as Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Instead, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held indirect talks in Muscat under Omani mediation — the first since Iran’s deadly protest crackdown last month. Regional actors were excluded after Tehran insisted on a strictly bilateral, nuclear-only format, reinforcing Ankara’s concern that Iran’s narrowed agenda is limiting the prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough.
The talks came amid lingering US threats toward Tehran following the regime's deadly crackdown on large-scale protests last month. President Donald Trump deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the Gulf on Jan. 26, signaling readiness to strike. Tensions escalated further when an F-35C shot down an Iranian Shahed drone near the carrier on Tuesday. Hours later, two fast boats likely operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards tried to seize a US-flagged oil tanker but were warned off by a US Navy warship.
