TEHRAN, Iran: Iran expressed optimism on Wednesday ahead of a third round of nuclear talks with the United States, as its negotiating team departed for Geneva amid heightened regional tensions and a growing US military presence in the Middle East.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran saw the chance of a positive outcome from the negotiations scheduled for Thursday.
“In relation to the talks, we see a good outlook,” Pezeshkian said in remarks carried by state media.
He said Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi would lead the discussions in Geneva and that Iran had sought, “with the guidance of the supreme leader”, to move beyond what he described as a “no war, no peace situation”.
1/4 Pillared on the understandings forged in the previous round, Iran will resume talks with the U.S. in Geneva with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal—in the shortest possible time.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) February 24, 2026
Araqchi said on Tuesday that a deal with Washington was “within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority”, according to Iranian media.
High-level meeting in Geneva
A senior US official said on Monday that envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will meet the Iranian delegation in Geneva on Thursday.
The talks follow two earlier rounds aimed at resolving the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear accord during his first term and has since pushed for a new agreement.
Washington has repeatedly demanded that Iran halt uranium enrichment entirely.
Tehran rejects that condition, insisting its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes.
US military build-up and threats
The negotiations come as the United States reinforces its military presence in the region.
Trump has deployed two aircraft carriers, more than a dozen other ships and additional warplanes to the Middle East, and has repeatedly threatened military action if talks fail.
Trump said on February 19 that he was giving Tehran 10 to 15 days to reach a deal.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he accused Iran of developing missiles that could eventually strike the United States.
“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said.
Iran’s foreign ministry dismissed those claims. Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said allegations about Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes were “big lies”.
According to the US Congressional Research Service, Iran’s current missile arsenal consists of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges of up to about 3,000 kilometres.
The continental United States lies more than 6,000 miles from Iran.
A 2025 assessment by the US Defense Intelligence Agency said Iran could potentially develop an intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 if it chose to pursue that capability, but did not conclude that such a decision had been made.
‘Real gamble’
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi warned that any war with Iran would be “a real gamble” and could not be contained.
Speaking to NPR, he said there was no military solution to the nuclear dispute and urged Washington to prioritise diplomacy.
However, he cautioned that Iran would not remain silent if attacked and would strike US assets in the region.
He also questioned the purpose of the recent US military deployments and described the upcoming Geneva meeting as “very important”.
Iran has previously threatened to target American bases across the Middle East if it comes under attack.
Tensions escalated last June when the United States joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Trump later claimed key sites had been destroyed and that Iran’s atomic programme had been “obliterated”.
On Tuesday, he said Tehran was seeking “to start all over again” and was “again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions”.
