Negotiations Between United States and Iran Conclude with Significant Progress, Mediator Confirms

US and Iranian representatives have achieved “notable progress” during critical nuclear negotiations in Geneva, according to Oman’s foreign minister; however, it is still uncertain whether an agreement can be reached to prevent potential conflict.

Mediator Badr al-Busaidi said the two sides plan to resume talks “soon” after talks in their respective capitals, and technical talks will take place in Vienna next week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led his country’s delegation, said “good progress” had been made and that agreement had been reached on some issues, but differences remained on others.

He said the next round of talks would take place in less than a week.

The expectation of further talks could reduce the likelihood of President Donald Trump carrying out his threat to attack Iran.

Trump has ordered the largest US military buildup in the Middle East since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, while Iran has vowed to respond with force.

For decades, the US and Israel have accused Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has repeatedly denied that it is trying to build a bomb and has stated that its program is solely for peaceful purposes, although the country is the only non-nuclear country to have enriched uranium to near-weapons-grade levels.

According to Iranian state media, negotiators stressed that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy and rejected US demands to completely halt uranium enrichment on Iranian territory and to ship out the country’s 400 kg (880 lb) stockpile of enriched uranium.

However, officials are believed to have made concessions, although these proposals have not yet been made public.

One of the reported options was to allow Iran to enrich uranium to a minimum level under international monitoring after a three- to five-year suspension.

Araghchi told Iranian television that in exchange for a deal, negotiators have demanded the lifting of sanctions that have weakened Iran’s economy.

Opponents of the government say any relief would provide a lifeline to the clerical rulers.

The indirect talks took place in two sessions: one in the morning, lasting three hours, and a shorter one in the evening. There was no immediate reaction from the US on the outcome.

As in previous rounds, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, participated from the US side.

Rafael Grossi, head of the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also participated in the talks.

It is not yet clear what conditions Trump will accept for a deal, and the president has done little to explain why military action might be necessary now, eight months after the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities during the war between Israel and Iran.

Iran has already refused to discuss limits on the country’s ballistic missile program or ending support for proxies in the region, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.

In recent weeks, the US has sent thousands of troops to the region and what Trump has described as an “armada,” including two aircraft carriers and other warships, as well as fighter jets and refueling aircraft.

Trump threatened to bomb Iran last month after security forces brutally suppressed anti-government protests, killing thousands.

But his focus has since shifted to Iran’s nuclear program, a long-running dispute with the West.

In his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump spoke more evasively about tensions with Iran but did not explicitly state a reason for the strike.

He said Iran was developing missiles that could reach the US “soon,” but he did not provide any details.

He also accused the country of trying to “start everything over again” with its nuclear weapons program after last year’s attacks and said he could not allow “the world’s number one sponsor of terror… to possess nuclear weapons.”

However, hours before the speech, the Iranian foreign minister posted on social media that Iran “will not develop nuclear weapons under any circumstances.”