The negotiators from the United States and Iran ended this Thursday, 26th, after hours of talks, the third round of dialogues with “significant progress”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman, Badr Al Busaidi. Contacts will resume next week in Austria.
“We ended the day with significant progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran,” said Al Busaidi on the X network, adding that “discussions at a technical level will take place next week in Vienna.” The American government has not yet commented on the matter.
Limit of diplomacy
Thursday’s conversation was seen as the last chance for diplomacy, amid increased American pressure after Washington mobilized a fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East.
Everything you need to know to protect your wallet
US President Donald Trump is seeking a deal that would curb Iran’s nuclear program and sees an opportunity as the country faces internal difficulties, with dissent rising after protests across the country last month.
Iran, in turn, insists on maintaining uranium enrichment, even with its program weakened after Trump ordered, in June, attacks on three nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic – an episode set in the context of a devastating 12-day war fought last year.
Tehran has stated that in the event of an American attack, all US military bases in the Middle East would be considered legitimate targets, putting tens of thousands of American troops at risk. The country also threatened to attack Israel, raising fears of a new escalation that could trigger a regional conflict.
Continues after advertising
“There would be no victory for anyone – it would be a devastating war”, said Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with the newspaper India Today, on Wednesday, 25, before the meeting.
“As the American bases are spread out in different places in the region, unfortunately perhaps the entire region would get involved and participate, so it is a very terrible scenario,” he added.
Third round of negotiations since the June war
The talks in Geneva mark the third round of talks since the June war. Araghchi returned to exchanging messages with Steve Witkoff, a real estate billionaire and close Trump ally who serves as the president’s special envoy for the Middle East. Both held several rounds of negotiations last year, which were interrupted after Israel launched its offensive against Iran in June.
As in the previous stages, the talks are mediated by Oman, a country located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and a traditional interlocutor between Iran and the West.
After arriving in Geneva on Wednesday evening, Araghchi met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. According to the state agency Oman News Agencythe two reviewed the proposals for an agreement on their nuclear program, based on the principles defined in the previous round.
In this post-war round, Trump is pushing for Iran to completely stop uranium enrichment and also agrees to discuss the ballistic missile program and Iranian support for regional militant forces. Tehran, however, maintains that negotiations should be restricted exclusively to nuclear issues.
Continues after advertising
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran is “always trying to rebuild elements” of its nuclear program. According to him, Tehran does not enrich uranium at the moment, “but it is trying to get to the point where it can do so.”
Iran says it has not carried out enrichment since June, but has blocked IAEA inspectors from accessing sites hit by American strikes. Satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press indicate activity at two of these points, suggesting attempts to assess damage and possible recovery of material.
The West and the IAEA say Iran maintained a nuclear weapons program until 2003. Before the June attacks, the country was enriching uranium to 60 percent purity — a small technical step toward the 90 percent needed to make weapons.
Continues after advertising
US intelligence agencies assess that Iran has not yet resumed a weapons program, but “has undertaken activities that put it in a better position to produce a nuclear device if it so desires.” Although it insists on the peaceful nature of the program, Tehran has threatened to seek the bomb in recent years.
“The principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” US Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House. According to him, Trump is “sending these negotiators to try to resolve this issue” and “wants to resolve this issue diplomatically.” “But, of course, the president has other options as well,” Vance added.
War fears
It is unclear whether limited strikes would be enough to force Iranian concessions. An attempt to remove the country’s leadership could drag the US into a longer and more complex campaign, without public signs of planning for the subsequent scenario.
Continues after advertising
There are also doubts about the regional impacts of any offensive. Tehran could retaliate against US allies in the Persian Gulf or against Israel. Amid these fears, oil prices have risen in recent days, with a barrel of Brent hovering around US$70. In the previous round of tensions, Iran claimed to have temporarily halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage through which around a fifth of the oil traded in the world passes.
Satellite images obtained on Tuesday, 24, and on Wednesday by the company Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by the Associated Press indicate that American ships normally docked in Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, were all at sea.
When questioned, the fleet referred questions to the US Armed Forces Central Command, which declined to comment. Before an Iranian attack on Qatar in June, the fleet had already dispersed its vessels as a preventative measure.
