Iran said talks with the U.S. over a new nuclear deal could get underway in coming days, building on a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at averting war between the two sides.

President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the start of negotiations with Washington “within the framework of the nuclear issue,” Iran’s semi-official Fars news service reported Monday, citing a government source. Talks could include senior officials from both countries such as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the Tasnim news service said, citing a source it didn’t identify.

“We’re ready for diplomacy, but they must understand that diplomacy is not compatible with threats, intimidation or pressure,” Araghchi said on state TV. “We will remain steadfast on this path and hope to see its results soon.”

Multiple countries in the Middle East have been acting as intermediaries between Tehran and Washington, said Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry.

The developments underline the international effort to ease Middle East tensions as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens the Islamic Republic with military action if it doesn’t reach an agreement to curb its nuclear program. American naval assets have been dispatched toward Iran and Trump said Sunday they were “a couple of days” away, even while unspecified Gulf allies negotiate to “make a deal.”

Oil prices fell sharply in early trading on Monday, partly because of the heightened diplomatic maneuvers, with Brent dropping around 5% to below $66 a barrel. Prices are still up roughly 8.5% this year because of the still-high chances of a conflict in the oil-rich region.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned Sunday of a “regional war” if his country is attacked. Tehran has previously threatened to retaliate with strikes on Israel and U.S. bases in the region, as it has in response to previous assaults.

Diplomatic push

Trump last month threatened to strike Iran over the authorities’ deadly crackdown on protests against poor living standards, which later spread into an uprising against Khamenei’s regime. More than 6,800 people were killed in the unrest, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported, with many thousands more cases under review.

Trump eventually backed down, before pivoting to the lack of a nuclear deal as a reason to attack. Washington and Tehran held several rounds of talks on an agreement to curb Iran’s atomic activities last year, before Israel — later joined by the U.S. — began airstrikes in June.

Trump has said repeatedly that Iran’s nuclear program was obliterated as a result of those attacks. However, Tehran stopped allowing international inspectors access to some sites after the conflict ended, clouding knowledge of the country’s nuclear program and its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium.

Baghaei, the Iran foreign ministry spokesman, said Iran’s priority in new talks was sanctions relief and that it is “realistic” in its approach.

Araghchi has held talks with counterparts in Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since Friday. “Structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said Saturday.

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed canceled a state visit to Japan that was planned for later this week due to the Iran tensions, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unidentified state officials.

The UAE government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.

Some of Japan’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas also said they will skip a key conference in Qatar this week because of security concerns.

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—With assistance from Dana Khraiche and Eltaf Najafizada.

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