Trump-Iran latest: US military shoots down Iranian drone as Tehran demands venue change for talks

US envoy Steve Witkoff held talks on Tuesday with Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, who are widely expected to press Washington to adopt a tougher stance aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

During the meeting, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Witkoff that “Iran has repeatedly proven it cannot be trusted to meet its commitments”, according to The Times of Israel.

“Israel is demanding from the US that an agreement with Iran include removing enriched uranium from the country, stopping uranium enrichment, limiting the production of ballistic missiles, and stopping support for [regional] proxies,” said a person familiar with Israeli government thinking, The Financial Times reported.

“Otherwise, Israel supports an attack to overthrow the regime,” they added.

Gold prices surged more than two per cent as rising US-Iran tensions boosted demand for safe-haven assets after the US shot down an Iranian drone near an aircraft carrier.

Spot gold rose 2.7 per cent to $5,071.79 an ounce by 0353 GMT, following a 5.9 per cent surge on Tuesday – its largest one-day gain since November 2008.

“Gold has climbed back about the key $5,000 level, ... (as) geopolitical tensions have lifted the metal’s safe-haven appeal after US forces downed an Iranian drone,” Jigar Trivedi, a senior research analyst at IndusInd Securities, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The US military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the US military said.

The US military shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday after it “aggressively” approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

An F-35C fighter jet from the Abraham Lincoln shot the drone in self-defence, with no American service members harmed or equipment damaged, the US military said.

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The drone that the US forced shot down was on a “routine and lawful” mission in international waters, carrying out reconnaissance and monitoring, according to Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“This drone successfully transmitted its surveillance and reconnaissance images to headquarters, but subsequently lost communication. The reason for this loss of contact is currently under review,” the report said.

Iran has not responded to the US attack on its drone on Tuesday yet.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Tehran is open to negotiations with the United States following encouragement from regional allies, but insisted that talks must happen without threats or excessive demands.

He posted on X that he has “instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists – one free from threats and unreasonable expectations – to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency”.

The statement comes amid rising tensions, with Iran’s supreme leader warning of a potential “regional war” if attacked, while US president Donald Trump has increased military pressure and threatened action unless Iran agrees to a nuclear deal and halts violence against protesters.

The talks are still going ahead in Oman – and not Turkey after Tehran reportedly demanded a change of venue, according to an Axios report.

The United States and Iran are expected to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday, according to an Axios report.

The Trump administration reportedly agreed to Tehran’s request to shift the venue from Turkey, while discussions are still ongoing about whether regional Arab and Muslim countries will join the negotiations, the report said, citing an Arab source.

Turkey has been working behind the scenes to make the talks happen there later this week as US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling in the region.

A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process. Foreign ministers from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also been invited to attend the talks, if they happen, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to speak to journalists.

But whether Iran and the US. can reach an agreement remains to be seen, particularly as US president Donald Trump now has included Iran's nuclear program in a list of demands from Tehran in any talks. Trump ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

On Tuesday, Araghchi spoke by phone with his counterparts from Oman, Qatar, Turkey and Kuwait, but did not mention a possible venue.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, despite events in the Gulf, talks with Iran were still scheduled for later in the week.

"I just spoke with special envoy [Steve] Witkoff, and these talks as of right now are still scheduled," she told reporters.

She said that President Trump is “always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango."