Iranian gunboats unsuccessfully attempted to intercept a US oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday before a US Navy vessel intervened, reports say.

By Humeyra Pamuk and Idrees Ali DUBAI, Feb 4 - Nuclear talks between the United States and Iran are expected to take place in Oman on Friday, a regional diplomat said, with a possible confrontation looming as U.

The US military accused Iran of "unnecessary aggression" after shooting down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and IRGC vessels approached a US-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz ahead of US-Iran talks later this week.

Iran requests nuclear talks with the U.S. in Oman as diplomatic efforts intensify amid escalating regional tensions and military buildup in the Middle East.

The U.S. military has deployed dozens of aircraft and assembled about 12 warships near Iran in the last month, setting the stage for possible strikes.

Trump been ratcheting up threats against Iran over the past several weeks, urging a nuclear deal and increasing U.S military presence in the region.

Even with US forces poised to strike Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CNN that he was “confident that we can achieve a deal” on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a peaceful resolution of tensions with Washington following renewed military threats from US President Donald Trump. During a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,