Iran said Friday that in order to reach a deal, the United States will have to drop its "excessive demands", tempering the optimism expressed after talks seen as a last-ditch bid to avert war.

The Oman-mediated talks follow repeated threats from President Donald Trump to strike Iran, and with the United States conducting its biggest military build-up in the region in decades.

Iran and the United States held hours of indirect negotiations Thursday over Tehran's nuclear program but walked away without a deal, leaving the danger of another Mideast war on the table as the U.S. has gathered a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the region.

Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks in Geneva, said there had been "significant progress in the negotiation" without elaborating.

The International Monetary Fund says it is allowing Egypt to draw on about $2.3 billion from an earlier approved loan, noting that the country has made progress in restoring economic stability and reducing inflation as part of a reform program.

The IMF said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to release the funding followed reviews of the government reforms, which it credited with bringing about "a broad-based economic recovery" in the world's most populous Arab country. It noted that the gross domestic product grew at a rate of 4.4% from 2024 to 2025.

As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world's most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure.

Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year's war launched by Israel and recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic's survival is at stake.

An Israeli strike on Thursday killed at least two Palestinians and wounded five others east of Gaza City, according to Fadel Naeem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Syrian government forces and Druze militiamen who control areas in the southern Sweida province on Thursday exchanged prisoners taken in clashes last summer, a rare step toward a possible political resolution of simmering tensions in the country.

The exchange was the first major sign of progress in attempts by the United States and Jordan to broker a political settlement between the two sides.

Iran and the United States were holding another round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday to try to reach a deal on Tehran's nuclear program and potentially avert another war as the U.S. gathers a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East.

U.S. President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran also hopes to avert war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that he was hopeful ahead of the third round of talks with the United States, adding that they could help end the standoff with Washington.

"We see a favorable outlook for the negotiations," said Pezeshkian in a speech.

Syria's interior ministry confirmed on Wednesday the mass escape of relatives of suspected Islamic State group jihadists from the Al-Hol camp last month following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces who had overseen the facility.

"When our forces arrived, they found cases of collective escapes due to the camp having been opened up in a haphazard manner," ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said at a press conference.

A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths.

It was the second consecutive annual record for press deaths and the deadliest year since the CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago.