US and Iran begin nuclear talks in Geneva

2026-02-26 14:25:33, Kosova & Bota CNA

US and Iranian officials began talks in Geneva on February 26, in what is seen as a last-ditch effort to reach a nuclear deal and avoid a major military conflict between the two adversaries.

The third round of talks began as President Donald Trump is weighing options for US military action if a deal to limit Iran's nuclear program is not reached and as two US aircraft carriers are deployed near the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is holding talks with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Omani representatives are acting as mediators, as they were in the previous two rounds.

The sides held indirect talks earlier this month in Oman, the first since Israel and the United States bombed Iran's main nuclear facilities during a brief conflict in June last year. The second round of talks was held in Geneva on February 17.

Both rounds of negotiations brought no progress and key points of disagreement remain unresolved.

During the talks, the US has demanded that Iran completely halt uranium enrichment and give up its stockpile of about 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, steps that would prevent Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon.

Tehran insists its nuclear program has peaceful and civilian purposes, such as generating electricity.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on February 25 that Iran is trying to "rebuild elements" of its nuclear program even though it is not currently enriching uranium.

Rubio also said that although the talks will focus on Iran's nuclear program, its missiles "must be addressed during the negotiations," as Tehran has "thousands of short-range ballistic missiles that can reach American bases in the region."

He added that Trump's statements on February 24 during his address to the nation that Iran is "working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America" ??do not mean that they currently possess such weapons, but that they are "clearly on the path to, one day, being able to develop weapons that can reach the US."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on February 26 that the indirect talks would focus only on Tehran's nuclear program.

Later, Baqaei said that the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, would likely join the talks "to help advance discussions on technical issues."

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on February 26 that American and Iranian officials had shown "unprecedented openness to new and creative ideas and solutions."

Iran has shown that it is willing to make compromises in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions and recognition of its right to enrich uranium.

Ahead of the February 26 negotiations, Araqchi said an agreement "can be reached, but only if diplomacy becomes a priority."

He also vowed that Iran "will never, under any circumstances, develop a nuclear weapon," but insisted on the country's right to "harness the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology."

In his address on February 24, Trump appeared to argue for a possible attack on Iran, saying he would not allow the "world's number one sponsor of terror" to have nuclear weapons.

Trump said Tehran wants to rebuild its nuclear program and that it is "right now pursuing its evil nuclear ambitions again," a claim that was rejected by Tehran.

The negotiations in Geneva come after Trump's repeated threats of military action against Tehran, initially over the brutal suppression of mass protests in January, and later over the country's nuclear program.

World powers reached a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2015 to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb.

At that time, Western economic sanctions were eased, but Iran began violating commitments after Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 during his first term as president and reimposed sanctions./REL