Iran and the United States began fresh talks in Geneva on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump warned of consequences should Tehran fail to strike a deal.
Mediated by Oman, the discussions are aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washington’s “more realistic” position on its nuclear programme.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily against Iran, first over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month and then more recently over its nuclear programme.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the talks.
A previous attempt at diplomacy collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in June, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
“A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Iranian state TV reported on Tuesday that the indirect talks had begun with the two sides exchanging messages through Omani mediators.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in Geneva to discuss his country’s position “regarding nuclear issues and sanctions relief”.
He also stressed Tehran’s “seriousness in using result-oriented diplomacy to secure the legitimate interests and rights of the Iranian people” and preserve peace in the region, according to a ministry statement.
Iran has insisted that the discussions be limited to the nuclear issue, though Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed, including Tehran’s ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region.