Iran and the United States are holding indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear negotiations, viewed as a last chance for diplomacy, as America has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal. U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is passing messages with Iranian Foreign […]
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The US and Iran hold indirect talks in Geneva
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Iran and the United States are holding indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear negotiations, viewed as a last chance for diplomacy, as America has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.
U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is passing messages with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an effort to convince his country to halt its enrichment of uranium, a key step to building a nuclear bomb, and curtail or stop its production of long-range missiles. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also in attendance.
The talks lasted some three hours before the American delegation left the site. Iranian state television reported that the talks would resume after a break.
What to know:
- Araghchi and Witkoff held multiple rounds of talks last year that collapsed after Israel launched its war against Iran in June. These latest talks are again being mediated by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that’s long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West.
- Iran has maintained that it wants the talks to focus solely on nuclear issues, while the U.S. pushes to halt Iran’s enrichment of uranium entirely. But Washington’s concerns also go beyond Iran’s nuclear program to its ballistic missiles, support for proxy networks across the region and other issues.
- There is also uncertaintyabout what any military action could mean for the wider region. If an American attack happens, Iran has said all U.S. military bases in the Mideast would be considered legitimate targets, putting at risk tens of thousands of American service members. Tehran could retaliate against the American-allied nations of the Persian Gulf or Israel. Oil prices have risen in recent days in part due to those concerns.