Iran’s president has announced that he has instructed diplomats to seek talks with the United States, as tensions around the threat of a military confrontation appear to ease. President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media on Tuesday that he has instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations”.

Senior members of the Trump administration are expected to travel to Istanbul later this week to discuss a potential nuclear deal with Iran, according to Axios.

US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on February 3 for talks with Israeli officials, two days before a key meeting in Istanbul with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to jumpstart negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program and tamp down fears of a new war in the Middle East.

Iran is demanding that talks with the U.S. this week be held in Oman not Turkey, and that the scope be narrowed to two-way negotiations on nuclear issues only, a regional source said on Tuesday, adding new complications to an already delicate diplomatic effort.