Differences over the scope for the talks have also cast doubts on whether it will still go ahead, keeping open the risk of U.S. military action.

Iran and the United States are set to hold high-stakes negotiations in Oman on Friday over Tehran's nuclear programme, but a dispute over the agenda suggests progress will be hard won amid the threat of a regional Middle East war.

The talks between Iran and US are still set to focus on Iran's nuclear program and capabilities, NYT noted, citing three Iranian officials and one Arab official. Iran has agreed to discuss its ballistic missile program and its use of proxy terror groups in talks with the United States slated for Friday morning,

Iran has tentatively agreed to resume nuclear talks with the US as it tries to avert the threat of strikes, in what would be the first such negotiations since the Trump administration bombed three of Iran’s nuclear sites last summer.

Iran's president has instructed the foreign minister to pursue negotiations with the United States. This marks a shift amid high tensions following Iran's crackdown on protests.

A US aircraft carrier shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively approached” the ship in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday hours before two gunboats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps approached a US-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to board and seize the ship,

The incidents occurred amid heightened tensions in the region as President Donald Trump ramps up the U.S. military presence in the region and both countries prepare for bilateral talks later this week.