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Talks between the US and Iran planned for later this week hit a snag Tuesday after Tehran requested they be relocated, that regional participants be excluded, and that the discussions’ scope be limited to the country’s nuclear program, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The new demands could complicate efforts by Middle Eastern allies of the United States to broker a diplomatic solution to sky-high regional tensions.

The talks had been set for Istanbul, with foreign ministers from Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also expected to attend.

Tehran is now asking for an alternate location: Oman, the small Gulf sultanate that has previous hosted talks between the US and Iran.

Iran is also stipulating the talks be conducted bilaterally, without the other nations’ representatives.

And it has requested the scope of the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue. The US has said its demands for Iran extend beyond an end to its nuclear program to curbing its ballistic missiles and ending support for regional proxy groups.

What the changes — first reported by Axios — portend for the diplomatic efforts wasn’t clear. Already, some American officials had privately warned that Iran may be using diplomacy to play for time in preventing military action.

The two US participants in the discussions — foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner — arrived in the region on Tuesday for talks with Israeli officials.

Trump said Monday that talks were ongoing but continued to point to the large military buildup in the region as evidence of his willingness to order strikes.

“Right now we’re talking to them. We’re talking to Iran, and if we can work something out that’ll be great, and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen,” he said.