Iranian FM says Geneva talks one of the ‘most serious’ discussions we had with US: Highlights

US-Iran tensions live updates: 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.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, sent to the Mediterranean this week in a military build-up to put pressure on Iran, left a naval base in Crete on Thursday, AFP reported.

Its departure came as a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter's nuclear programme, mediated by Oman's foreign minister, opened in Geneva Thursday morning.

The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The third round of talks begins in Genva, mediated by Oman. US 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.

US-Iran tensions live updates: As US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with the Oman foreign affairs minister in Geneva on Thursday, the ministr said that US and Iran is open to ‘new and creative ideas.’

“His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs clarified that the efforts are continuing intensively and in a constructive spirit, under the negotiators' unprecedented openness to new and creative ideas and solutions,” the ministry said in an X post about meeting US diplomats.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as part of the ongoing Iranian-American negotiations.

The meeting addressed a review of the Iranian side's perspectives and proposals, along with the responses and inquiries from the American negotiating team regarding the handling of the key elements of Iran's nuclear program, the Omani foreign ministry said in an X post.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Speaking with IRNA in Geneva, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said the US team met with the Omani foreign minister and that Iran is serious about the negotiations and fully prepared to continue them.

“We have come here with full seriousness. Our delegation is complete and ready to continue the talks. Our frameworks are clear. From the beginning, the Iranian delegation’s negotiating guidelines have been very clear,” Baqaei said, highlighting Iran’s efforts to safeguard its right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

US-Iran tensions live updates: A third round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran, mediated by Oman's foreign minister, opened in Geneva.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is leading the Iranian delegation at the talks, which are being held at the Omani ambassador's residence on the outskirts of Geneva.

The United States is represented by envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is married to US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The third round of talks with the United States on Thursday will focus solely on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, AFP reported, citing Iran's foreign ministry spokesman.

"The subject of the negotiations... is focused on the nuclear issue," said Esmaeil Baqaei, adding that Tehran will push for lifting sanctions and asserting Iran's right "to peaceful use of nuclear energy".

US-Iran tensions live updates: A diplomatic car carrying the Iranian delegation was seen driving near the residence of the Omani ambassador to the United Nations in Cologny, Switzerland. The location is believed to be the venue for the indirect US‑Iran talks addressing the countries’ long-running nuclear dispute.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The Iranian delegation at the third round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva has submitted proposals aimed at addressing all US pretexts regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme. According to IRNA, the proposals were forwarded to the American side through Omani foreign minister Badr Albusaidi, earlier in the day.

No details have been disclosed about the content of the Iranian proposals, yet.

The Iranian delegation is led by foreign minister Abbas Araqchi while the US side is represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States have officially begun in Geneva.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told Press TV on Thursday that Tehran is entering the third round of indirect talks with “seriousness and flexibility.” He emphasised that the discussions will focus exclusively on nuclear issues and the removal of sanctions, according to Reuters.

US-Iran tensions live updates: A convoy believed to be transporting American diplomats arrived on Thursday at the Omani residence in Geneva, where indirect talks with Iran are set to take place.

An Associated Press journalist on the ground reported seeing the convoy enter the compound, ahead of the third round of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran under Omani mediation.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran’s foreign ministry said the third round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States has begun in Geneva with an initial meeting between the Iranian and Omani foreign ministers.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi met with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Geneva to discuss technical issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme, Oman’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Albusaidi emphasized the importance of the IAEA’s professional and technical role in ensuring transparency and credibility in nuclear oversight, said the ministry's post on X.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi entered the venue hosting the third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Geneva on Thursday, Iran International reported citing Iranian state media.

The discussions are taking place under the mediation of Oman's Badr Albusaidi

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran has submitted a draft proposal to the United States through Omani mediators ahead of the third round of nuclear talks in Geneva. According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the document is designed to assess Washington’s “seriousness” in pursuing diplomacy.

“Rejecting it would amount to confirming the initial suspicion that the United States is not genuinely committed to diplomacy and that its diplomatic posture is merely a game,” IRNA reported, without providing further details on the contents of the proposal.

US-Iran tensions live updates: In his address ahead of Geneva talks with US Iran's President Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which “clearly means Tehran won't develop nuclear weapons,” reported Reuters citing state TV.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday reaffirmed that Tehran opposes the development of nuclear weapons, citing a ban by Supreme Leader Ali Khameneikian said, reported Reuters citing state TV.

The remarks come ahead of the third round of nuclear talks with the United States, which continues to allege that Iran seeks to develop a nuclear arsenal. Khamenei issued the fatwa, a religious decree with the force of law in Iran, in the early 2000s, explicitly forbidding the country from pursuing nuclear weapons.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran has reiterated that it wants the upcoming negotiations to focus exclusively on its nuclear programme.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is “not seeking nuclear weapons… and are ready for any kind of verification.”

However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile, reported AP.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Araqchi, arrived in Geneva on Wednesday evening local time, leading a political and technical delegation ahead of nuclear negotiations with the United States.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The United States has maintained a firm stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, insisting that Tehran cannot enrich uranium under any new agreement.

While Special Envoy Steve Witkoff once suggested in a television appearance that 3.67% enrichment could be a potential compromise, this is same limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal under former President Barack Obama, both Witkoff and other US officials, including President Donald Trump, have since reiterated that Iran must give up enrichment entirely. A condition Tehran has repeatedly rejected.

Previous attempts at diplomacy collapsed in June when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, while the latest round has seen talks held in Oman and Geneva.

Meanwhile, US concerns extend beyond nuclear enrichment, encompassing Iran’s ballistic missile programme, support for proxy groups across the region, and other strategic issues, making negotiations increasingly complex.

US-Iran tensions live updates: Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi met with his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in Geneva on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported.

The Iranian foreign ministry said that during the meeting, Araqchi outlined Tehran’s views on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions. He reportedly emphasised that the success of negotiations would depend on seriousness from the other side and avoiding contradictory behaviour and positions.

US-Iran tensions live updates: US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said Wednesday that under Trump’s leadership, the Treasury will continue to apply “maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime’s weapons capabilities and support for terrorism, which it has prioritized over the lives of the Iranian people.”

In line with this, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against more than 30 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to illicit Iranian petroleum sales and the production of ballistic missiles and advanced conventional weapons.

US-Iran tensions live updates: The United States has ramped up pressure on Iran ahead of Thursday’s nuclear negotiations by announcing new sanctions targeting 30 individuals, entities, and vessels.

Washington said the move focuses on a so-called shadow fleet of ships supplying petrol to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The US claims these vessels are part of networks not only supplying ballistic missiles but also other advanced weaponry.

“Iran exploits financial systems to sell illicit oil, launder the proceeds, procure components for its nuclear and conventional weapons programs, and support its terrorist proxies,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

The latest wave of sanctions specifically targets 12 vessels, along with companies and individuals involved in Iran’s oil sales and weapons procurement. The US said these actions aim to disrupt funding streams that support Tehran’s missile programme.

US-Iran tensions live updates: US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran in the lead-up to renewed nuclear negotiations in Geneva, combining a push for diplomacy with pointed military threats.

In his recent State of the Union address, Trump accused Tehran of “pursuing sinister nuclear ambitions” and claimed Iran was developing missiles capable of threatening Europe and potentially the United States. He emphasised that while he prefers diplomatic solutions, he “will NEVER allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror… to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump set a strict timeline for progress, stating on February 19 that Iran must reach a deal within 10–15 days or face “really bad things.” He stressed that any agreement must include a clear Iranian commitment to forgo nuclear weapons, calling for a categorical declaration that Tehran will not build a nuclear arsenal.

The president’s warnings come amid a significant US military buildup in the Middle East, intended to signal the consequences if Tehran fails to engage constructively in the talks. Despite the pressure, Trump has maintained that diplomacy remains the preferred path, leaving the door open for a negotiated resolution while keeping military options visible.