Iran-US tensions highlights: Talks to resume on Thursday, confirms Oman minister

Here are the recent developments related to Iran-US tensions in a brief:

• Students held memorial rallies at several major Iranian universities on Sunday, with Basij forces moving onto campuses and reports of clashes coming in from Mashhad.
• US envoy Steve Witkoff said he has met with Iranian exiled prince Reza Pahlavi under the direction of President Donald Trump.
• Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that elements of a deal with the US were being worked on, hoping that they would be discussed this week in Geneva.
• Oman's foreign minister confirmed later that talks between the US and Iran would resume on Thursday, February 26.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that despite talks with the US, Iran is closely monitoring Washington's actions, adding that all necessary preparations have been made for any potential scenario in Tehran.

US House of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said he believes that Iran will not meet US demands and could face military action.

"I expect that Iran does not take the diplomatic off-ramp and that it comes to a strike for the president to protect the homeland of the United States of America, which absolutely this is against an imminent threat against the American people," Mast told Fox News.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X on Sunday, "Recent negotiations involved the exchange of practical proposals and yielded encouraging signals."

"However, we continue to closely monitor US actions and have made all necessary preparations for any potential scenario," he added.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X on Sunday, "Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Because we are IRANIAN."

His remarks came in response to US envoy Steve Witkoff's statement saying President Donald Trump was "curious" why Iran had not capitulated under mounting pressure from Washington.

Oman's foreign minister on Sunday confirmed that talks between the US and Iran will resume in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday, February 26, AFP reported.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Students held protests which led to clashes at several Iranian universities for a second day on Sunday, according to local news agencies and social media posts, with Iran facing a US military buildup as it seeks to reach a nuclear deal with Washington.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that he expected talks with senior US negotiators on Tehran's nuclear programme to resume soon, "probably" on Thursday in Geneva.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Araghchi said, "I believe that when we meet, probably this Thursday in Geneva again, we can work on those elements and prepare a good text and come to a fast deal," he said.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Sunday that his country would be forced to strike back at US interests in the Middle East in response to any renewed attack.

"If the US attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves. If the US attacks us, that is the act of aggression. What we do in response is an act of self-defence," Araghchi said in an interview with the US network CBS.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran agreed a secret 500 million euro ($589 million) arms deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The agreement, signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to deliver 500 man-portable "Verba" launch units and 2,500 "9M336" missiles over three years, the FT said.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Sunday said that negotiators are 'working on elements' of deal with US. He also added that Tehran has right to decide on uranium enrichment and has right to self-defence if US attacks, AFP reported.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday he will likely meet with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday, noting that there is still "a good chance" of diplomatic solution on Tehran's nuclear ambition.

Araqchi made the comments during an interview on CBS News' "Face the Nation" as U.S. President Donald Trump considers strikes on Iran.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iranian students protested at five universities in the capital, Tehran, and one in the city of Mashhad on Sunday. The scattered protests erupted Saturday at universities following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies.

Many Iranians have held ceremonies marking the traditional 40-day mourning period in the past week. Most of the protesters are believed to have been killed around Jan. 8 and 9, according to activists tracking the situation.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Students in Iran staged anti-government rallies at several universities for a second day, testing a fragile calm imposed after last month’s deadly crackdown on protests, Bloomberg reported.

Footage published on social media on Sunday showed chants directed at the country’s leadership, calls for the release of political detainees, and clashes between demonstrators and security forces at universities across Tehran and other cities.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Amid tensions between US and Iran over latter's nuclear programme, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was spotted entering the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar. This was after the aircraft was ordered to the region as part of the US military buildup for possible action against Iran, Fox News reported.

Iran-US tensions live updates: US-Iran is expected to hold talks on Friday if Tehran sends a nuclear proposal soon, Reuters reportd citing Axios.

Earlier, second round of talks was held in Geneva, mediated by Oman, which Iran said, decided the ‘guiding principles’ of the nuclear talks.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Tensions between the US and Iran have remained high since protests erupted in Iran over economic pressures and were met with a violent crackdown. While Iran says over 3,000 people died and blames foreign-backed “terrorists,” the US-based HRANA reports more than 7,000 deaths.

The crackdown drew strong US criticism, with President Donald Trump threatening military action. Disputes over human rights and Iran’s nuclear programme have since continued to strain ties between the two countries.

Iran-US tensions live updates: "The last round of talks showed that US ideas regarding the scope and mechanism of sanctions relief differ from Iran’s demands. Both sides need to reach a logical timetable for lifting sanctions," an Iranian official told Reuters

"This roadmap must be reasonable and based on mutual interests." Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday said that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States, Reuters reported.

"World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads... but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us," Pezeshkian said.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff in an interview, said that Iran has been enriching well beyond the number that you need for civil nuclear. "It's up to 60% (fissile purity). They're probably a week away from having industrial, industrial-grade bomb-making material, and that's really dangerous," Witkoff said.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is peaceful but it is willing to accept some curbs on it in return for the lifting of financial sanctions.

Iran-US tensions live updates: Arab and Islamic countries issued a joint condemnation on Sunday of remarks by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who suggested Israel had a biblical right to a vast swath of the Middle East, AFP reported.

Iran joined the chorus with its foreign ministry accusing Huckabee on X of revealing "American active complicity" in what it called Israel's "expansionist wars of aggression" against Palestinians.

Iran-US tensions live updates: President Donald Trump on Friday warned that limited strikes against Iran are possible even as the country's top diplomat said Tehran expects to have a proposed deal ready in the next few days.

In response to a reporter's question on whether the US could take limited military action as the countries negotiate, Trump said, "I guess I can say I am considering that."

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iranian lawmaker and former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Tehran’s demands in negotiations with the United States include the right to enrich uranium, the full lifting of sanctions, and the right to self-defense, Iran International reported.

“We are throwing a rope to Trump, but he is not taking it," he said.

Mottaki said “if the US does not enter into war after possible failure of negotiations, the current situation will continue and we will go on managing our country."

Iran-US tensions live updates: Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Friday said that he expected to have a draft counterproposal ready within days following nuclear talks with the United States this week.

Two US officials told Reuters that US military planning on Iran had reached an advanced stage, with options including targeting individuals as part of an attack and even pursuing leadership change in Tehran, if ordered by Trump.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a diplomatic solution delivers economic benefits for both Tehran and Washington. "Within the economic package under negotiation, the United States has also been offered opportunities for serious investment and tangible economic interests in Iran’s oil industry," the official said.

However, he said Tehran will not hand over control of its oil and mineral resources.