The U.S. Virtual Embassy for Iran has published an updated travel alert reiterating previous calls for Americans to immediately depart Iran, via both commercial flights and land crossings with Armenia and Türkiye. The alert calls on Americans to “Leave Iran now,” and to have plans that do not rely on help from the United States.

President Donald J. Trump has called for the creation of a new, improved, and modernized nuclear arms treaty between Russia and the United States, instead of an extension of New START, the final nuclear arms reduction treaty between the two countries which expired on Thursday.

F/A-18E Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9), along with F-35C Lightning lls with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314), carry out daytime flight operations onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Arabian Sea, amid ongoing tensions in the region between Iran and the United States.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has announced that on Thursday, February 5, at the direction of Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the Commanding General of SOUTHCOM, forces under Joint Task Force-Southern Spear (JTF-SS) conducted a strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization in the Eastern Pacific. According to intelligence, the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in cartel operations, with two narco-terrorists killed during this action, the first strike to be conducted since January 23, 2026.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials arriving in Oman earlier tonight ahead of Friday’s talks in Muscat between Iran and the United States.

“It is instructive that the Iranians wanted to change the format and location of the talks, the U.S. initially said take-it-or-leave-it, but now apparently accepted the change of venue,” Michael Ratney, the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President Joe Biden told Politico. “Trump doesn’t seem to want war with Iran - and he may be listening to his friends in the Gulf.” Some Arab officials believe that that is the case, specifically those who have been in recent close contact with the White House.

According to four Arab officials from two countries, the President and top aides have listened to their concerns about a potential attack on Iran leading to counter-attacks on neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, that could spark a protracted large-scale regional conflict with Iran. Officials have also warned about what they view as likely retaliatory efforts by Iran aimed at choking off oil exports from the region and driving up energy costs enough to cause a global economic crisis, possibly via attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz.

Some of the Gulf officials also warn that a bombing campaign, even one more intense than last June’s strikes by Israel and the United States against military and nuclear facilities in Iran, would likely not be enough to bring about regime change in the Islamic Republic. “This is a lot more complex than Venezuela,” one of the Arab officials said, referring to last month’s operation to capture the President Nicolás Maduro, in favor of his second-in-command who has shown a willingness to work with the Trump Administration.

President Trump’s “massive armada” of warships moving into the Middle East in preparation for a possible attack on Iran are still more than a week away from being in position, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke to Politico.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), talks between the American and Iranian delegations in Oman are advancing, with it possible that talks will last into the weekend and next week as Iran appears defiant on several issues, particularly a total ban on the enrichment of uranium, instead pushing for the deluding of only its highly-enriched uranium and/or the transfer of it to a friendly nation like Russia.

Today’s talks between the American and Iranian delegations in Oman were primarily face-to-face, despite reports from some outlets that they were instead through intermediaries, however, the negotiations were mediated in part by Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi. During the talks, White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met directly with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for upwards of eight hours, their first meeting face-to-face since last June’s strikes against nuclear sites in Iran, according to Iranian officials who spoke to Fox News.

Six F-35B Lightning lls with the No. 1 Group of the Royal Air Force departed from RAF Marham in England earlier today, supported by a pair of Voyager KC2/3 Aerial-Refueling Tankers, heading for RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The F-35Bs are likely heading to the region in support of Operation Shader, the United Kingdom’s military intervention against ISIS in Iraq and Syria which is launched from Akrotiri, though the fighter jets could also be used for the defense of bases in the Middle East if strikes are carried out against Iran.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas G. Dinanno has officially accused China of secretly carrying out nuclear explosion testing in violation of several international conventions, “including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons,” with Dinanno specifically mentioning a covert nuclear explosive test conducted by Beijing in July 2020 during Friday’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaking to reporters tonight aboard Air Force One, President Donald J. Trump appears to talk positively about today’s negotiations in Oman, stating that the talks were “very good” and that Iran wants to make a deal “very badly” with the United States.

“We likewise had very good talks on Iran. Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We have to see what that deal is. But I think Iran looks like they want to make a deal very badly, as they should. Last time, they decided maybe not to do it, but I think they probably feel differently. We'll see what the deal is. It'll be different than last time. And we have a big armada. We have a big fleet heading in that direction. It'll be there pretty soon. So we'll see how that works out.”

The White House, Pentagon, and President Trump still have yet to clarify what “armada” the President keeps talking about, considering the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and her Carrier Strike Group, as well as a handful of others surface ships, have already arrived in the region and there are no other carriers or big decks that are enroute to the Middle East.