US, Iran resume nuclear talks as Trump ratchets up war threats
The negotiations come after President Donald Trump sought to build a case for war in his State of the Union address.
WASHINGTON — The United States and Iran have resumed nuclear negotiations, holding a third round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday as President Donald Trump continues to threaten military action if no deal is reached.
The US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held more than three hours of indirect talks with their Iranian counterpart in the negotiations, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Oman’s top diplomat, who is mediating the talks, announced on X that the negotiators would pause their discussions and reconvene later Thursday.
“We’ve been exchanging creative and positive ideas in Geneva today, and now both US and Iranian negotiators have adjourned for a break,” Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi wrote. “We’ll resume later today. We hope to make more progress.”
The talks come as the US military continues to build up its air and naval presence in the Middle East, deploying two aircraft carriers to provide President Donald Trump with potential strike options. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump accused Tehran of resuming work on its nuclear program and developing missiles that could “soon” be capable of reaching the United States.
Ali Shamkhani, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Thursday on X that “an immediate agreement is within reach” if the negotiations focus on Iran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons. Shamkhani added that Araghchi, who is leading the Iranian delegation, has “sufficient support and authority to secure this agreement.”
The two countries are at odds over whether Iran can continue to maintain some level of uranium enrichment in an arrangement similar to the 2015 deal. Trump has demanded zero enrichment and for Iran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Tehran has long insisted on its right to pursue what it claims is a peaceful nuclear effort.
Iran’s uranium enrichment was effectively halted as a result of the US bombing of its nuclear facilities. Prior to the strikes, Iran was enriching uranium to 60% — a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90% and well beyond what’s necessary for civil nuclear energy.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged Iran is not currently enriching but said, “They're trying to get to the point where they ultimately can."
"After their nuclear program was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it,” Rubio said. “You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it."
Rubio also described Iran’s refusal to negotiate over its missile program as a “big problem.”
Asked about Trump’s State of the Union assertion that Iran was nearing the ability to directly threaten the United States with missiles, Rubio said, “Clearly they are headed in the pathway to one day being able to develop weapons that could reach the continental US . . . And the ranges continue to grow every single year exponentially.”
