The Obama administration is reportedly considering direct talks with Iran over ways to resolve the crisis in Iraq, where Sunni militants have continued to gain new ground. Over the weekend, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, seized the northern town of Tal Afar. ISIS also claimed to have massacred 1,700 Shiite soldiers in Tikrit, but the number could not be verified. The United States has begun evacuating workers from its embassy in Baghdad. On Friday, President Obama ruled out sending U.S. ground troops back to Iraq.

President Obama: “We will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq, but I have asked my national security team to prepare a range of other options that could help support Iraq security forces, and I’ll be reviewing those options in the days ahead.”