US and Iran set for high-stakes nuclear talks in Geneva as threat of war looms
In addition to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will also participate in the negotiations mediated by Oman, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
But the US military is simultaneously preparing for weeks of operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders a strike, two US officials told Reuters.
Iran launched a military exercise on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international waterway and oil export route, with Gulf Arab states calling for diplomacy to end the dispute.
IRAN-US NUCLEAR TALKS IN THE SHADOW OF PROTEST AND WAR
Tehran and Washington renewed negotiations on the decades-old dispute on February 6.
Washington and its close ally Israel believe Iran aims to produce a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel’s existence. Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, even though it enriches uranium to a level far beyond the purity needed for energy production and close to that needed for a bomb. Tehran is keenly aware that a previous attempt to revive talks began in June last year, when Washington’s ally Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, later joined by US bombers hitting nuclear targets. Tehran has since announced that it has stopped uranium enrichment activities.
Since then, Iran’s Islamist rulers have been weakened by widespread street protests that have claimed thousands of lives against a cost-of-living crisis caused in part by international sanctions that have choked Iran’s oil revenue.
Unlike last time, the US has now deployed what Trump calls a massive naval fleet to the region.
Washington has sought to broaden the scope of the talks to include non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile stockpile. Tehran has said it is only willing to discuss restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and will not completely abandon uranium enrichment or discuss its missile program.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a news conference in Budapest that making a deal with Iran is difficult, but the US is willing to try.
Araqchi met in Geneva on Monday with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to discuss cooperation with the IAEA and technical aspects of upcoming negotiations with the United States.
The source said Tuesday afternoon that Witkoff and Kushner will participate in trilateral talks with Russia and Ukraine, where Washington is trying to persuade Ukraine and Russia to agree to an agreement to end Moscow’s four-year occupation of Ukraine.
