Iran says progress made in nuclear talks with the US after the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz
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Iran and the United States reached an agreement on “guiding principles” at the second round of nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, but work remains to be done, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
The progress does not mean that an agreement will be reached soon but the path has begun, he told Iranian media after the talks were concluded.
Iranian state media reported earlier that Iran will temporarily close part of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil supply route, as it holds talks on its nuclear program with the United States, which has sent military forces to the Gulf region to pressure Tehran into a deal.
US President Donald Trump said “regime change” in Tehran might be the best thing that could happen, while Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that any US attempt to topple his government would fail.
Just as talks began in Geneva, Iran’s state media reported that strategic areas would close for several hours due to “security measures” while Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards conducted military training there.
Tehran has previously threatened to block commercial shipping if attacked, a move that would halt a fifth of global oil flows and drive up crude prices.
Alongside Araghchi, US Ambassador Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the talks in Geneva, which were mediated by Oman, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.
“We have included some information related to the lifting of sanctions and nuclear issues,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state media before the talks ended.
“We are ready to continue these talks as long as possible – the problems are difficult. There is no trust between the two sides, we have to continue the talks under these conditions,” he added.
Baghaei said Tehran’s views on the nuclear issue, the lifting of economic sanctions and the framework of any understanding have been conveyed to the US side.
Earlier, Trump said he would be “indirectly” involved in the Geneva talks and believed Tehran wanted a deal.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Monday. “We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s to take out their nuclear power. And we should have sent the B-2s.”
The US joined Israel last June in bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Even the most powerful can be ‘beaten’: Khamenei
Since the June strikes, Iran’s Islamist rulers have been weakened by street protests, at the expense of thousands of people, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have choked Iran’s oil income.
Shortly after the talks began, Iranian media quoted the 86-year-old Khamenei as saying that Washington would not be able to coerce his government. The republic has been ruled by clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“The US president says that their army is the strongest in the world, but the strongest army in the world can sometimes be slapped and unable to stand up,” he said in comments published by Iranian media.
Washington has sought to broaden the scope of talks on non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile development. Tehran says it is only willing to discuss ways to curb its nuclear program – in order to get sanctions lifted – and that it will not completely stop enriching uranium or discuss its missile programme.
Khamenei reiterated Iran’s position that its nuclear arsenal is non-negotiable and that its type and range have nothing to do with the United States.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that the success of the Geneva talks depended on the US not making unreasonable demands and its seriousness in lifting crippling sanctions on Iran.
US B-2 bombers attack nuclear weapons
Tehran and Washington were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks in June last year when Washington’s ally Israel began a bombing campaign against Iran, and was joined by US B-2 nuclear-powered bombers. Tehran has since said it has halted uranium enrichment.
Tuesday’s meeting was held at the residence of the Omani ambassador to the United Nations amid security. Some cars with Iranian official licenses were visible outside.
Iran’s foreign minister called the first round of informal talks with US officials on Iran’s nuclear program a ‘good start.’ But neighboring countries continue to worry about a US military strike that could spark a regional war.
The U.S. military is preparing for what could be weeks of operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
The US and Israel believe that Iran wishes to develop a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel’s existence. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, although it has enriched uranium beyond the purity needed to generate electricity, and close to what is needed to detonate a bomb.
Iran has joined the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which guarantees countries the right to pursue nuclear energy in return for requiring them to give up atomic weapons and cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel, which has not signed the NPT, neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons, under a decades-long policy of ambiguity designed to deter surrounding adversaries. Scholars believe it does.
