GENEVA — U.S. and Iranian negotiators are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Thursday for further talks, signaling that U.S. negotiators believe Tehran has a serious proposal to dilute its highly enriched uranium stockpile.
A senior U.S. official said Sunday that the Trump administration expects to receive the Iranian proposal by Tuesday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said previous talks had produced “encouraging signals” but warned that Tehran was ready for all scenarios ahead of another round of talks scheduled for Thursday.
“Iran is committed to peace and stability in the region,” Pezeshkian wrote to X.
“Recent negotiations resulted in an exchange of realistic proposals and encouraging signals. However, we continue to closely monitor U.S. actions and have made all necessary preparations for all potential scenarios,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was still a good chance of finding a diplomatic solution, amid concerns that the conflict could reignite after the United States redeployed large-scale military assets to the region.
He told CBS that negotiators will likely meet on Thursday to discuss and try to reach a “quick deal.” But he hinted that U.S. assets in the region were potential targets, saying, “If the United States attacks us, we have every right to defend ourselves.”
Cautious optimism arose after Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi confirmed that a third round of indirect talks between the two countries would be held in Switzerland.
“I am pleased to confirm that negotiations between the United States and Iran will take place in Geneva this Thursday. This is a positive boost to further progress towards a deal,” said Al-Busaidi, who is acting as a mediator for indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Iran and the United States resumed talks over Iran’s nuclear program in Oman earlier this month, and held a second round in Geneva last week. The U.S. and Iranian governments gave the talks an overall positive review, but no significant progress was made.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is leading the U.S. government’s nuclear negotiations, said Saturday that the U.S. president is interested in why Iran has not yet “surrendered” and agreed to curb its nuclear program.
According to US media, the US has accumulated the most air power in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In recent days alone, the United States has sent more than 120 aircraft to the Middle East, and the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is on its way to join the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, which is already stationed in the Arabian Sea.
Araghchi responded to Witkoff’s comments in a post on X, saying: “You want to know why we won’t surrender? Because we are Iranians.”
An Iranian diplomat also said in an interview with CBS that a diplomatic solution with the US is still within reach. He told Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan that Iran’s nuclear program was a matter of “dignity and pride” for Iranians.
“We developed this technology ourselves, by our scientists. It’s very important to us because we created it. We paid a huge amount of money for it,” he said.
Araghchi cited two decades of U.S. sanctions, the targeted killing of Iranian scientists, and last June’s attack on nuclear facilities by the U.S. and Israel.
“We are not going to give up. There is no legal reason to do so while everything remains peaceful and secure,” Araghchi said.
Araghchi added that as a “full member state” of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which does not require non-nuclear states to seek or acquire nuclear weapons, Iran is “ready to fully cooperate with the organization”.
But he stressed that under the treaty, Tehran has “every right to enjoy peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment.”
“Enrichment is a sensitive part of our negotiations. The US team knows our position and we know theirs. We have already exchanged concerns and I think a solution is achievable.”
Meanwhile, the United States is also seeking to expand talks beyond the nuclear issue to include Iran’s missile program and support for regional armed groups. Iran has rejected the request, and Aragushi told CBS that the Iranian delegation is “negotiating only on the nuclear issue” at the moment.
He said the Iranian delegation is working to present a draft document ahead of the next meeting that includes “elements that address the concerns and interests of both parties” for a “quick agreement.”
The minister added that the agreement is likely to be “better” than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated by former US President Barack Obama in 2015.
“There are elements that could be much better than the last deal,” he said, without elaborating. “I don’t need to go into too much detail at this point. But we can agree to keep our nuclear program peaceful forever and at the same time (lift) further sanctions.”
Previous efforts to negotiate collapsed last year when Israel launched attacks on Iran, sparking a 12-day war in which Washington joined in by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
President Trump issued new threats of military action in January in response to Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters. In response, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil export route for Gulf oil, and warned that it could attack U.S. military bases in the region.
The exchange raised concerns about a regional war, prompting Gulf states including Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to make diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Trump to negotiate a deal that would eliminate Iran’s nuclear program and resolve the ballistic missile issue.
Mark Fitzpatrick, former director of the nonproliferation program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said zero uranium enrichment is impossible for Iran.
He also outlined the potential for a strategic rift between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding policy toward Iran. Fitzpatrick argued that the Trump administration remains focused on the nuclear threat while the Israeli government is seeking a broader containment strategy. — Agency
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