Key points
- Oman to host Geneva discussions next week
- Trump warns failure would be “very traumatic”
- Netanyahu urges broader deal beyond nuclear
GENEVA: Iran and the United States are set to hold a second round of discussions over Tehran’s nuclear programme next week, according to a statement issued on Saturday by the Swiss Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said Oman, which hosted the first round of indirect negotiations on February 6, will again facilitate the talks, this time in Geneva. Swiss officials did not specify the exact dates for the upcoming meetings.
Following the initial discussions, US President Donald Trump warned Iran that failing to reach an agreement with his administration would be “very traumatic.”
Similar efforts to revive negotiations last year collapsed in June, after Israel launched what became a 12-day conflict with Iran, a confrontation that also involved US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use military force if Iran does not agree to limits on its nuclear programme. Iranian officials have said they would respond with an attack of their own if targeted. Trump has also criticised Iran over its harsh crackdown on recent nationwide protests.
Wider regional war
Gulf Arab nations have cautioned that any military escalation could quickly spiral into a wider regional war.
On Friday, Trump announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being deployed from the Caribbean to the Middle East to reinforce other US military assets already stationed in the region. He also remarked that a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
The first round of indirect talks involved Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Notably, the top US military commander in the region was also present for the first time.
The Trump administration has insisted Iran must halt all uranium enrichment under any future agreement, a condition Tehran has rejected.
Iran continues to maintain that its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country is “ready for any kind of verification.”
Trump has indicated recently that his main priority is for Iran to scale back its nuclear activities. Iran, for its part, wants the negotiations to remain focused solely on the nuclear issue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met Trump in Washington this week, has pushed for any deal to also address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and halt its support for proxy groups.
