Iran’s Foreign Minister has arrived in Geneva ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States, Iranian state television said Monday (February 16, 2026), as Washington keeps up pressure on the Islamic republic.

According to Tehran, “indirect” Iran-U.S. nuclear talks mediated by Oman will be held on Tuesday (February 17, 2026), although Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed including Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies.

Tehran and Washington restarted negotiations this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June.

Considerable uncertainty surrounds the fate of Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilogrammes of 60-percent enriched uranium that was last seen by nuclear watchdog inspectors in June.

“The Foreign Minister has arrived in Geneva at the head of a diplomatic and expert delegation to take part in the second round of nuclear negotiation,” Iran’s state-run IRIB wrote on its Telegram channel.

During his visit to Geneva, Abbas Araghchi is expected to hold talks with his Swiss and Omani counterparts as well as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, and other international officials, Iran’s foreign ministry said.

Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday (February 15, 2026).

The latest talks follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran, first over Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country’s nuclear programme.

The West fears the programme is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.

On Friday (February 13, 2026), Mr. Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen”, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions that have crippled the Islamic republic’s economy.

“If we see the sincerity on their [American] part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,” said Majid Takht-Ravanchi.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any deal must involve the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as well as Tehran’s ability to enrich more.

“There should be no enrichment capability… dismantle the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said during a speech in Jerusalem.

‘Viable’ deal

On February 6, Mr. Araghchi led the Iranian delegation in indirect talks with Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner in Muscat.

Switzerland has played a key role in diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States for decades.

It has represented U.S. interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said Tehran was seeking a deal with the United States that would generate economic benefits for both countries, particularly in sectors such as aviation, mining and oil and gas, the Fars news agency reported.

“For the agreement to be viable, it is essential that the United States also be able to benefit from it in areas with strong and rapid economic return potential,” he was quoted as saying.

Iran has ‍rejected U.S. calls ​to halt uranium enrichment ‌on ​its territory during talks in Oman on Friday (February 6, 2026), a regional diplomat briefed ​by Tehran told ⁠Reuters, but said it was willing ​to discuss ⁠the “level and purity” of enrichment or a regional ‌consortium.

The diplomat ‌added that Tehran believed ‍the U.S. negotiators “seemed to ‍understand Iran’s stance on the enrichment … and they showed flexibility about Tehran’s demands”.

He added ⁠that Iran’s missile capabilities ​were not discussed during ⁠the talks in Muscat.

Nuclear talks between Iran and the United States will take place on Friday (February 6, 2026) in Oman, the Iranian Foreign Minister said, as tensions between the countries remain high following Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

The announcement by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) came after hours of indications that the anticipated talks were faltering over changes in the format and content of the talks.

“I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” Mr. Araghchi wrote on X on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) evening.

Earlier on Wednesday (February 4, 2026), a regional official said Iran was seeking a “different” type of meeting than that what had been proposed by Turkiye, one focused exclusively on the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, with participation limited to Iran and the United States. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.

The Trump administration confirmed the U.S. will take part in high-level talks with Iran in Oman instead of Turkiye as originally planned, according to White House official.

The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that several Arab and Muslim leaders urged the Trump administration on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) not to walk away from talks even as Iranian officials pressed to narrow the scope of talks and change the venue for the negotiations.

The official added that the White House remains “very skeptical” that the talks will be successful but have agreed to go along with the change in plans out of respect from allies in the region.

Tensions between the countries spiked after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. might use force against Iran in response to the crackdown on protesters. Mr. Trump also has been pushing Tehran for a deal to constrain its nuclear programme.

Turkiye urges diplomacy

On Wednesday (February 4, 2026), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated Turkiye’s opposition to foreign intervention in neighbouring Iran, calling for the resolution of issues through dialogue.

Turkiye has been urgently working for the past week to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, and was previously expected to host the talks.

“We believe that external interventions involving our neighbour Iran would pose significant risks for the entire region,” Mr. Erdogan said during a visit to Cairo. “Resolving issues with Iran, including the nuclear file, through diplomatic means is the most appropriate approach.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday (January 30, 2026), Tehran had no plans in place to meet with U.S. officials about resuming talks, insisting preparatory work was the first priority.

“No meeting plan has been set between us and the Americans. We are ready for fair and just negotiations, but preparations are needed, both in terms of the form and subject of the discussions and the venue,” he said, indicating he had discussed the matter with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan at talks in Istanbul.

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Ready for nuclear talks on ‘equal footing’

Iran is ready to resume nuclear talks with the United States “on an equal footing”, Mr. Araghchi said.

“If the negotiations are fair and on an equal footing, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to participate,” he said, adding the standard disclaimer that Tehran has “never sought to obtain nuclear weapons”.

A day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that time was running out for Iran to reach a deal on its nuclear programme, Tehran said on Thursday that its armed forces had their “fingers on the trigger”, and vowed to respond with “unprecedented” response, targeting “all those supporting the aggressor”.

“Our brave Armed Forces are prepared — with their fingers on the trigger — to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air, and sea,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a social media post, in response to Mr. Trump’s warning that “a massive armada” was heading towards Iran.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly come to the table and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – No nuclear weapons,” Mr. Trump said on Wednesday, adding that if Iran failed to do so, the U.S. forces deployed to West Asia were “ready to rapidly fulfil” their mission, “with speed and violence”.

Mr. Araghchi said Iran was ready for a “fair and equitable” deal, but not for coercion. “Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL— on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation — which ensures Iran’s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” he wrote. “Such weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have NEVER sought to acquire them.”

But he added that Iran would respond to force with force. “The valuable lessons learned from the 12-Day War have enabled us to respond even more strongly, rapidly, and profoundly,” said Mr. Araghchi, referring to the June 2025 Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared a “historic victory” after the June war, and Mr. Trump had claimed that his strikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities. But Mr. Trump has now shifted his focus back to Iran’s nuclear programme, asking Tehran to reach a deal without delay.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and an advisor of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said a limited U.S. strike is an “illusion”. “Any military action by ‌the U.S. — from any origin and at any level — will be considered the ‌start of war⁩, and its response will be immediate, ‌all out⁩, and unprecedented, targeting [the] heart of ‌TelAviv⁩ and all those supporting the aggressor,” he wrote in a social media post in Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, Chinese and English.

Earlier in the day, CNN reported that Mr. Trump was considering “a major new strike” on Iran after preliminary talks between Washington and Tehran over the country’s nuclear programme and ballistic missile production failed to make progress. The options he is weighing include strikes on Iran’s leadership and nuclear, military and government institutions, according to the report.

Mr. Trump had earlier threatened to use force if Iran killed protesters. After Iranian authorities cracked down on the protests — in which thousands are feared killed — Mr. Trump appeared to back off, saying Tehran had said it would not hang protesters. But after moving more fighter jets, missile defence systems and USS Abraham Lincoln strike group to West Asia, Mr. Trump stepped up his threats.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran was open for “genuine” dialogue and diplomacy, but Mr. Trump has so far proved that he seeks to impose his political views through the threat of war. “As long as there are no guarantees for the rights of the Iranian nation, [as long as] the economic interests and benefits of the Iranian nation are not secured, and [as long as] the dignity of the Iranian nation is not respected, naturally there can be no talk of negotiations because we do not consider dictation, imposition, or surrender as negotiation,” Mr. Ghalibaf, a veteran of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, said in an interview.

Iran’s Foreign Minister on Sunday (November 16, 2025) said that Tehran is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country.

Answering a question from an Associated Press journalist visiting Iran, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered the most direct response yet from the Iranian government regarding its nuclear program following Israel and the United States’ bombing its enrichment sites in June.

“There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. Araghchi said. “There is no enrichment right now because our enrichment facilities have been attacked.”

Iran’s government issued a three-day visa for the AP reporter to attend a summit alongside other journalists from major British outlets and other media.

European officials told Iran on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) it had yet to take the actions needed to stop the return of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme, warning time was running out.

The comments from the German Foreign Ministry and the European Union came after a call Iran had on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) with representatives of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

“The window for finding a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear issue is closing really fast,” Kallas warned in a statement. “Iran must show credible steps towards addressing the demands of France, (the) U.K. and Germany, and this means demonstrating full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and allowing inspections of all nuclear sites without delay.”

The German Foreign Ministry separately wrote on the social platform X that “Iran has yet to take the reasonable and precise actions necessary to” stop the reimposition of UN sanctions.

In a statement issued hours later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi again asserted that the reimposition of UN sanctions was “lacking any legal or logical justification”. He also pointed to the fact that Iran and the IAEA earlier reached a deal mediated by Egypt to grant the UN watchdog access to all Iranian nuclear sites and for Tehran to report on the whereabouts of all its nuclear material.

However, it remains unclear when Iran will make that report. And Mr. Araghchi, in his statement, offered no other routes to satisfying the Europeans’ concerns.

“It is now up to the other parties to seize this opportunity to keep the diplomatic path open and avert an avoidable crisis, showing seriousness and belief in diplomacy,” he said.

A 12-day war launched by Israel against Iran in June saw both the Israelis and the Americans bomb Iranian nuclear sites, throwing into question the status of Tehran’s stockpile of uranium enriched nearly to weapons-grade levels.

The process to reimplement sanctions on Iran, termed a “snapback” by the diplomats who negotiated it into Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, was designed to be veto-proof at the UN. It will take effect at the end of September unless the UN Security Council agrees to stop it.

It will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of Iran’s ballistic missile program, among other measures, further squeezing the country’s reeling economy.

Using the “snapback” mechanism will likely heighten tensions between Iran and the West in a region still burning over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, particularly after Israel began its ground offensive targeting Gaza City.