Iran says a “clear path ahead” for a nuclear deal with the US after talks in Geneva under the shadow of Trump’s threats.

US-Iranian talks stalled in high-profile talks on Tuesday in Geneva, with President Trump threatening a new attack on the Islamic Republic if a deal on its nuclear program is not quickly negotiated. Iran’s initial reaction to the meetings was positive, but it was not immediately read by the American delegation.

The talks, which were mediated by Oman, focused on Tehran’s nuclear program, but the Israeli leader pressed Mr. Iranconventional ballistic missiles in any new agreement. Mr. Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December that if no deal could be reached with Iran, the US will support Israeli strikes in Iran’s ballistic missile program, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

That threat of possible military action is backed by a large US military presence in the waters around Iran – with one aircraft carrier. the strike team is already in place again another is on the way.

In a speech delivered in Tehran on Tuesday as the talks continued, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the US military threat, saying: “A warship is a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is a weapon that can sink it.”

Speaking Monday night to reporters on Air Force One, Mr. Trump said he would be involved in the talks “indirectly.” He said Iran is “used to negotiating hard,” but said he believes the regime wants to make a deal.

“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making an agreement,” he said.

The American delegation in Geneva is led by Mr. Trump Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Iranian delegation is led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iran says “the road has begun” to a deal after “very constructive” talks.

Aragachi said after Tuesday’s meetings were held informally, like the previous round a few weeks ago, with Omani officials walking between Iranian and US delegations.

“Compared to the past, the talks were completely serious and the atmosphere was very constructive,” he said, according to Iran’s state TV network IRIB. “Various ideas were presented and seriously examined. In the end, we were able to reach a general agreement on a number of guiding principles, and from now on we will proceed on the basis of those principles and move forward in writing the text of a possible agreement. This does not mean that we can quickly reach the final agreement, but at least the path has begun.

There is no confirmed timetable for this round of talks, but Tuesday’s talks ended after a few hours.

“We hope that this process can be completed quickly, and we are willing to devote enough time to it,” said Aragachi, according to IRIB. “When it comes to writing the text, the work becomes more detailed and complex. In my opinion, good progress has been made compared to the previous session, and now we have a clear path ahead, which I consider good.”

He said “no specific date has been set” for the next meetings, but “it was agreed that both sides will work on plans for a possible agreement, then exchange those documents, and then decide on a date for the third round.”

What does Iran want?

Tehran wants to ease the damaging US economic sanctions. Iran was already bound by a long list of international sanctions when President Trump, during his first term in office, pulled the US out of the 2015 international nuclear deal negotiated with his predecessor Barack Obama.

After doing this, Mr. Trump hit Iran with the toughest economic sanctions, and the sanctions have left the country’s finances vulnerable, with high inflation and the country’s inflation making basic needs hard to afford even for the wealthy.

The economic suffering caused by the sanctions led to an outpouring of anger in early January, sparking an unprecedented wave of protests – which led to an outpouring of anger. unprecedented and violent abuse to answer.

Iranian authorities have arrested thousands of people during the protests, and have continued to threaten anyone who appears to support the riots. But to end another mass protest, the leadership of the Islamic Republic knows that the best way would be to lift the sanctions so that the Iranian people can pay for food and fuel again.

What you are not willing to do to make that happen, however, is important. Iranian officials have insisted on preserving the country’s right to enrich uranium for a nuclear program.

In a post on social media, Araghchi said he is in Geneva “with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable agreement. What is not on the table: to submit before threats.”

Iran has signaled its willingness to discuss its nuclear enrichment program, and Araghchi met ahead of talks in Geneva with Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The IAEA was tasked with monitoring Iran’s adherence to the last nuclear deal, which partially fell apart after Mr. Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018.

What does the US want?

The US delegation is likely to press ahead with demands designed to curb Tehran’s nuclear power, including the possible reduction or removal of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and a new IAEA monitoring system.

But the Trump administration has discussed the issue regularly with Israel, and Netanyahu has been adamant that any new deal with Iran must include limits on ballistic missiles and Iran’s funding of forces involved in the region. Israel also says Iran should not have a domestic capability to enrich nuclear weapons.

It is not clear how much those demands will play a part in the talks in Geneva this week.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that there was hope for progress in negotiations, adding that President Trump “always prefers peaceful and negotiated outcomes to things.”

What precedes the speeches?

This round of negotiations comes after the first years of false politics – and a major breakthrough in June of 2025, when the US joins Israel’s 12-day war on Iran by conducting. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Mr. Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say those strikes ended Iran’s nuclear program, but the extent of the damage is disputed.

Before the June war, Iran had talked about withdrawing the US from the previous nuclear deal as it expanded its enrichment program. It was necessary began to enrich uranium up to 60% puritya short, technological step away from weapons-grade standards, according to the IAEA, which said Iran was the only country in the world that was nuclear-armed at that level.

The IAEA has called on Iran for months to improve visibility and cooperation with its inspectors, who continue to try to monitor its enrichment program.

The first round of indirect talks held in Oman earlier this month, where the Arab nation’s foreign minister spoke separately from Iranian and American negotiators, was described by Mr.