U.S. and Iran edge toward framework as Geneva nuclear talks resume, but missile rift looms
GENEVA — The United States and Iran could reach a framework agreement if Washington separates nuclear issues from other disputes, a senior Iranian official said, as a third round of indirect talks resumed in Geneva amid rising regional tensions and a U.S. military buildup.
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The official said “new ideas” surfaced in a three-hour session mediated by Oman between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner before negotiators broke and prepared to reconvene later in the day. “Still some gaps remain that need to be narrowed,” the official said.
The decades-long dispute over Iran’s nuclear program is unfolding as fears of a wider Middle East conflict intensify. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that “really bad things” will happen if there is no deal within 10 to 15 days, while the Pentagon has quietly surged forces into the region, according to U.S. officials.
At the core of the Geneva talks is Washington’s demand that Iran relinquish uranium enrichment, a process that can fuel civilian reactors but also produce material for a nuclear weapon. Tehran, which has long denied seeking a bomb, is pressing for sweeping sanctions relief and international recognition of a right to enrich under safeguards.
Reuters reported that Iran is offering unspecified new concessions in exchange for sanctions removal and acknowledgment of its enrichment program. But the agenda itself remains contested. U.S. officials want to broaden the discussions to Iran’s ballistic missiles and its support for armed groups in the region—issues Tehran says are off the table.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program is a “big problem” that will have to be addressed eventually, describing the missiles as “designed solely to strike America” and a threat to regional stability. “If you can’t even make progress on the nuclear program, it’s going to be hard to make progress on the ballistic missiles as well,” Rubio told reporters in Saint Kitts.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Press TV that the negotiations will focus solely on nuclear topics and the lifting of sanctions, adding that Tehran approaches the talks with “seriousness and flexibility.”
Even within the nuclear track, sequencing and scope of sanctions relief remain flashpoints, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Those gaps are compounded by sharpening rhetoric and military moves on both sides.
Trump, who sketched out a potential case for military action in his State of the Union address while insisting he prefers a diplomatic solution, has steadily ratcheted up pressure. In June last year, the United States joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites and has escalated again since January, when Trump threatened to intervene over Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests that left thousands dead, according to the administration.
Iran responded to last summer’s strikes by launching missiles at Israel and has vowed to retaliate fiercely if attacked again, fueling fears of a broader war that has unnerved Gulf oil producers and triggered travel warnings. Several countries have begun withdrawing dependents of diplomats and nonessential staff from parts of the region or advising citizens to avoid travel to Iran.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, departed port near Crete on Thursday and was heading to waters off northern Israel, where it was expected to arrive Friday. The United States has also sent about a dozen F-22 fighter jets to Israel—the first time Washington has deployed combat aircraft to the country for potential wartime operations, a U.S. official said. The administration has not formally announced the deployments, and the Pentagon declined to comment.
Inside Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei faces what officials describe as the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy buckling under tightened sanctions and renewed dissent following the January unrest. President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated that Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, saying the decree “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons,” a position Iran argues should ease Western security concerns.
For now, the immediate test in Geneva is whether the two sides can narrow differences on enrichment limits and sanctions relief without the talks collapsing over missiles and regional conduct. Iranian negotiators say a framework is within reach if non-nuclear issues are set aside. U.S. officials insist the missile threat cannot be ignored indefinitely. The outcome may hinge on whether both capitals can accept a phased approach: nuclear constraints and economic relief first, with a path—however tentative—toward addressing missiles and regional behavior later.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
