GENEVA — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva made “a step forward,” but warned that time is running out to lock in an agreement as military threats hover over the diplomacy.
“We made progress, but there is still work to be done, and the problem is that we don’t have much time,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told France’s LCI television in an interview. “There is the possibility of a dialogue that is really beginning, for the first time, to take shape,” he said, adding that he saw “a willingness on both sides to reach an agreement, but obviously such an agreement is enormously complex.”
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The discussions in the Swiss city this week, mediated by Oman, mark the most substantive U.S.-Iran contacts since a 12-day war last June derailed the previous negotiating track. Washington has continued to build up military forces in the Middle East, even as officials push Tehran to accept limits on its nuclear program.
A senior U.S. official said Iran is expected to submit a written proposal following Tuesday’s session in Geneva outlining how to avoid a deeper standoff with Washington. Top national security advisers convened in the White House Situation Room and were told that all U.S. forces ordered to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.
The White House has warned Iran it would be “wise” to strike a deal. President Donald Trump has again hinted at military action against Tehran, renewing a threat he first issued in January over the authorities’ deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
Diplomacy is unfolding under the shadow of constraints on nuclear oversight. Tehran has suspended some cooperation with the IAEA and has barred agency inspectors from accessing sites bombed by Israel and the United States during last June’s 12-day war, accusing the U.N. body of bias and of failing to condemn the strikes.
Grossi’s remarks suggest a fragile opening as envoys test whether Oman’s mediation can translate incremental technical understandings into a broader framework curbing Iran’s nuclear activities. Any arrangement will need to navigate political hard lines in both capitals and address verification gaps created since cooperation was scaled back.
The stepped-up military posture underscores the stakes. U.S. officials have framed deployments as a deterrent while diplomacy continues; Iranian officials have long insisted their nuclear program is peaceful and have demanded sanctions relief and security assurances.
In a sign of regional coordination, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel the weekend of Feb. 28, the senior U.S. official said. Israel remains a key stakeholder, pressing for stringent limits and enforcement mechanisms as the talks advance.
Even modest technical steps—such as restoring fuller IAEA access to sites and data—could lower tensions and buy time for a more durable accord. But with hardened postures after last year’s war and a compressed timeline for military deployments, negotiators face a narrow window to convert what Grossi called a “step forward” into a binding agreement.
For now, the Geneva channel remains active, with eyes on Tehran’s expected written proposal and whether both sides can agree on immediate de-escalatory measures that keep diplomacy ahead of the clock.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
