The presence of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military’s Central Command, in his dress uniform at the talks in Muscat, the Omani capital, served as a reminder that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships were now off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.

By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Parisa Hafezi WASHINGTON/DUBAI, Feb 4 - The U.S. and Iran have agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, officials for both sides said, even as they remained at odds

The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, sent a blunt warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ahead of the talks.

Mr Trump warns of a “bad day for Iran” if it fails to make a nuclear deal. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The USS Gerald R Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier.

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.

DUBAI, Feb 9 - Ali Larijani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and secretary of its national security council, will visit Oman on Tuesday following indirect U.S.-Iranian talks there,

President Donald Trump told U.S. troops on Friday that Iran has been “difficult” in nuclear negotiations and suggested that instilling fear in Tehran may be necessary to resolve the standoff peacefully.