US and Iran are holding a third round of nuclear talks as more American
forces deploy to the Mideast
[February 26, 2026]
By JAMEY KEATEN, JON GAMBRELL and MELANIE LIDMAN
GENEVA (AP) — Iran and the United States began 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. President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran’s nuclear
program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at
home with growing dissent following nationwide protests last month. Iran
meanwhile has maintained it wants to continue to enrich uranium even as
its program sits in ruins, following Trump ordering an attack in June on
three of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites, part of a bruising 12-day
war last year.
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. Iran has also threatened to
attack Israel, meaning a regional war again could erupt across the
Middle East.
“There would be no victory for anybody — it would be a devastating war,”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told India Today in an interview
filmed Wednesday just before he flew to Geneva.
“Since the Americans' bases are scattered through different places in
the region, then unfortunately perhaps the whole region would be engaged
and be involved, so it is a very terrible scenario.”
Geneva talks are the third meeting since June war
Araghchi again is passing messages to Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real
estate developer and friend of Trump who serves as a special Mideast
envoy for the president. The two men 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.
Araghchi met Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi after arriving in
Geneva on Wednesday night. The men “reviewed the views and proposals
that the Iranian side will present to reach an agreement on the Iranian
nuclear program, based on the guiding principles agreed upon in the
previous round of negotiations,” a report from the state-run Oman News
Agency said. Al-Busaidi will pass on Iran's offer to American officials
on Thursday, it added.
An Associated Press journalist saw al-Busaidi after he met with the
director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United
Nations' nuclear watchdog. The Omani diplomat flashed a thumbs up to a
question about whether he was hopeful for the talks.
Al-Busaidi returned Thursday to the Omani diplomatic residence on the
shores of Lake Geneva . A convoy believed to be carrying American
diplomats later arrived to the compound, followed by another believed to
be carrying Iranian diplomats. Oman later published images of Witkoff
and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, meeting with al-Busaidi at the
residence, signaling the start of the talks.
In this round of negotiations after the June war, Trump has pushed to
halt Iran's enrichment of uranium entirely, as well as address Tehran's
ballistic missile program and its support of regional militant forces.
Iran has maintained the talks must remain focused only on nuclear
issues.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday that Iran
is “always trying to rebuild elements” of its nuclear program. He said
that Tehran is not enriching uranium right now, “but they’re trying to
get to the point where they ultimately can.”
[to top of second column]
|
Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi,
right, holds a meeting with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff,
centre, and Jared Kushner, as part of the ongoing Iranian-American
negotiations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday Feb. 26, 2026.
(Foreign Ministry of Oman via AP)
Iran has said it hasn't enriched since June, but it has blocked IAEA
inspectors from visiting the sites America bombed. Satellite photos
analyzed by The Associated Press also has shown activity at two of
those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially
recover material there.
The West and the IAEA say Iran had a nuclear weapons program until
2003. Before the June attack, it had been enriching uranium up to
60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels
of 90%.
U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to restart a
weapons program, but has “undertaken activities that better position
it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.” While
insisting its program is peaceful, Iranian officials have threatened
to pursue the bomb in recent years.
“The principle’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House on
Wednesday.
Vance said Trump is “sending those negotiators to try to address
that problem” and “wants to address that problem diplomatically.”
“But, of course, the president has other options as well,” Vance
added.
Threat of military action sparks war fears
If the talks fail, uncertainty hangs over the timing of any possible
attack.
If the aim of potential military action is to pressure Iran to make
concessions in nuclear negotiations, it’s not clear whether limited
strikes would work. If the goal is to remove Iran’s leaders, that
will likely commit the U.S. to a larger, longer military campaign.
There has been no public sign of planning for what would come next,
including the potential for chaos in Iran.
There is also uncertainty about what any military action could mean
for the wider region. 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, with
benchmark Brent crude now about $70 a barrel. Iran in the last round
of talks said it briefly halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the
narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil
traded passes.
Satellite photos shot Tuesday and Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC and
analyzed by the AP appeared to show that American vessels typically
docked in Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, were all
out at sea. The 5th Fleet referred questions to the U.S. military’s
Central Command, which declined to comment. Before Iran’s attack on
Qatar in June, the 5th Fleet similarly scattered its ships at sea to
protect against a potential attack.
___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie
Lidman from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in
Washington contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
