Iran and the United States will hold a second round of indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear program next week in Geneva, Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The first round, held Feb. 6, took place in Oman, with the Swiss ministry saying Geneva would host the next round but not specifying which days.
The renewed diplomacy comes against a backdrop of escalating warnings. After the Feb. 6 discussions, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement with his administration would be “very traumatic.” Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to constrain its nuclear program, while Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own.
Trump also has tied the pressure to Iran’s internal security posture, warning Iran after its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests there. Gulf Arab nations have warned that any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.
In recent days, U.S. officials have also described a widening military posture in the region. Trump said Friday that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Middle East to join other U.S. military assets. Trump also said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” according to the AP report.
The Feb. 6 indirect talks were between Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, and the top military commander in the Middle East was present for the first time. Similar indirect talks last year broke down in June, a rupture that followed Israel launching what became a 12-day war on Iran that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Disputes over the scope of a possible agreement remain central. The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal, while Iran says it won’t agree to that position. Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the AP report said Iranian officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. and Iran also differ on how narrowly the talks should focus. Trump has suggested in recent weeks that his top priority is for Iran to scale back its nuclear program, while Iran has said it wants talks to focus solely on the nuclear program. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Trump in Washington this week, has pressed for a deal that would include steps to neutralize Iran’s ballistic missile program and end funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his nation is “ready for any kind of verification.” However, the AP report said the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile.