Iran is weighing its options ahead of nuclear talks with the US, which are set to begin in Oman this weekend, and may propose an interim nuclear agreement to avoid any military escalation, according to a report Thursday.

Iranian and American diplomats are expected to arrive in the Gulf state on Saturday to kickstart negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump reportedly seeking to clinch a deal within the next two months.

The Axios news site reported, however, that Iran believes Trump’s close deadline is too short a timeframe, and that failing to reach a comprehensive agreement within the set time would leave it vulnerable to US and Israeli military action.

As such, Iran may propose an interim agreement that would allow parties to iron out the details of a more permanent deal, without the use of military force, the report suggested, citing a European diplomat and an unnamed source familiar with the details.

An interim agreement could reportedly involve Iran partly reducing its uranium enrichment activity — which it insists is not related to any attempts to build a nuclear weapon, despite being at levels that have no civilian use — and allow the UN increased access to its nuclear facilities, as a confidence-building step to a more comprehensive agreement.

The proposal, if it were on the table, would appear to contradict comments from a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned on Thursday that the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency could be expelled ahead of the talks due to being considered an “external threat.”

The potential interim agreement would demand in return that Trump ease his “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Tehran, which has continued despite the planned talks, Axios said.

The report acknowledged, however, that it was unclear whether the US would agree to an interim agreement, as the move could be seen by Washington as an attempt by Iran to stall for time while keeping its nuclear program intact.

Despite suspicions on both sides of the other’s intentions, Iran said on Friday that it was giving diplomacy a “genuine chance” in talks with the US.

“We are giving diplomacy a genuine chance in good faith and full vigilance. America should appreciate this decision, which was made despite their hostile rhetoric,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a post on X.

Trump announced the planned negotiations during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House earlier this week, in remarks to the press from the Oval Office that appeared to catch the Israeli premier off guard.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu said that if diplomacy could fully eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, that would be a “good thing,” but that it had to be stopped one way or another, appearing to confirm that, like the US, Israel does not rule out military force if deemed necessary.

US officials have likewise voiced hope that the negotiations could offer a chance to address Iran’s nuclear program peacefully, while at the same time stressing that it will not be above more forceful measures, should they not yield results.

Speaking in Panama on Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said it was up to Iran to decide whether the recent US movement of B-2 bombers was a message to Tehran, but voiced hope that negotiations could be resolved peacefully.

As many as six B-2 bombers relocated in March to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, US officials have told Reuters, amid a US bombing campaign targeting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and mounting tensions with Tehran.

There are only 20 B-2 bombers in the US Air Force’s inventory, so they are usually used sparingly.

Experts say that puts the B-2s, which have stealth technology and are equipped to carry the heaviest US bombs and nuclear weapons, in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East.

Asked by a reporter if the B-2s were intended to send a message to Iran, Hegseth said the US “will let them decide.”

“President Trump’s been clear… Iran should not have a nuclear bomb,” he said. “We very much hope — the president is focused on doing that peacefully.”

Meanwhile, in a meeting of Trump’s cabinet on Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope that the negotiations could bring peace.

“We hope that will lead to peace,” Rubio said. “We’re hopeful about that.”

The exact structure of the planned talks remains unclear, as Trump has said they will be direct, while Iran has stressed they will be indirect, with intermediation from Oman’s foreign minister.

Efforts to settle the longstanding dispute over Iran’s nuclear program have ebbed and flowed for more than 20 years without resolution.

Trump tore up a 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers — the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany — during his first term of office in 2017, and also imposed stiff sanctions. Iran responded by dropping some of its commitments to the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking a nuclear weapon but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, which has no application beyond nuclear weapons, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.