A SECOND US aircraft carrier is operating in Middle Eastern waters in the run-up to the next round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Associated Press news agency reported today following an analysis of satellite images.

The USS Carl Vinson and its strike group have joined the USS Harry S Truman in the Arabian Sea, where the latter has been conducting air strikes against parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthi government for the past month.

Washington officials have insisted that the US campaign against the Houthis is a means to put pressure on their ally Iran in the negotiations.

Doubt remains over where the weekend talks will be held after officials initially identified Rome as  the venue, only for Iran to insist early today that they would return to Oman.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to order air strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear programme if a deal isn’t reached.

Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly described the first round of talks, held in Oman last weekend, as going “well,” while US envoy Steve Witkoff described them as “positive, constructive, compelling.”