The United States and Iran clashed over Tehran’s nuclear programme as a review of the treaty meant to prevent the spread of atomic weapons got underway on Monday (April 27, 2026) at the United Nations, a confrontation almost certain to be repeated during the monthlong meeting.

At issue was the election of Iran as one of 34 Vice-Presidents of the conference, where 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty are reviewing its implementation as they have done every five years since it took effect in 1970.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said U.S. negotiators have not requested Tehran end its nuclear enrichment programme, contradicting statements from American officials.

“We have not offered any suspension, and the U.S. side has not asked for zero enrichment,” Mr. Araghchi said in an interview on the Morning Joe show published online Friday (February 19, 2026) by U.S. TV network MSNBC.

The top diplomat also said the next step in talks between the two sides is for him to present a draft of a possible deal to Washington “in the next two, three days”.

“What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran’s nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever,” Mr. Araghchi said.

His comments stand in contrast to information relayed by high-ranking U.S. officials including President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium at any level.

Mr. Araghchi’s remarks come after Washington and Tehran concluded on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) a second round of Oman-mediated talks in the Swiss city of Geneva.

The two foes held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel war last June in which the U.S. took part by striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Thursday (February 19, 2026), Mr. Trump suggested the U.S. would attack Iran again if Tehran does not make a deal with Washington within 10 days, which he later extended to 15.

Washington has repeatedly called for zero enrichment but has also sought to address Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its support for militant groups in the region — issues which Israel has pushed to include in the talks.

Western countries accuse the Islamic republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies having such military ambitions but insists on its right to the technology for civilian purposes.

Mr. Trump, who has ratcheted up pressure on Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region, which he has described as an “armada”.

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, he ordered a second carrier, the Gerald Ford, to depart for the West Asia.

Meanwhile, Iranian naval forces this week conducted military drills in the Gulf and around the strategic Strait of Hormuz in their own show of force.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday (February 19, 2026) that it must reach a ‌deal over its nuclear program or “bad things” will happen, and appeared to set a 10-day deadline ​before the U.S. might take action.

Amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the West Asia ⁠that has fueled fears of a wider war, Mr. Trump said negotiations with Iran were going well but insisted Tehran has to reach a “meaningful” agreement.

“Otherwise bad things happen,” Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, told the first meeting of his Board of Peace ‌in Washington.

Trump spoke of the U.S. airstrikes carried out in June, saying Iran’s nuclear potential had been “decimated,” adding “we may have to take it a step further or we may not.”

“You’ll be finding ‌out over the next probably 10 days,” he said, without elaborating.

‘Good talks’: Trump

U.S. threats to bomb Iran, with ‌the ⁠two sides far apart in talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, have pushed up oil prices, and ⁠a Russian corvette warship on Thursday (February 19, 2026) joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, a vital sea route for global energy.

Iranian and U.S. negotiators met on Tuesday and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said they had agreed on “guiding principles.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on ​Wednesday (February 18, 2026), however, that the two sides remained apart ‌on some issues.

Mr. Trump said “good talks are being had,” and a senior U.S. official said Iran would make a written proposal on how to address U.S. concerns.

Mr. Trump called on Tehran to join the U.S. on the “path to peace.”

“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,” he said. “You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they ‌have a nuclear weapon.”

Iran has resisted making major concessions on its nuclear programme, though insisting it is ​for peaceful purposes. The U.S. and Israel in the past have accused Tehran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb. Earlier on Thursday (February 19, 2026), Russia warned against an “unprecedented escalation of tension” around Iran and urged restraint amid the U.S. military buildup in the region, which a senior American official said should be complete by mid-March.

Threat of war

Mr. Trump has sent aircraft carriers, warships and jets to the region, raising the prospect of another ‌attack on the Islamic Republic. The United States and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities and some military sites last June. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Iran on February 28, the senior U.S. official said.

Washington wants Iran to entirely give up uranium enrichment, a process used to create fuel for atomic power plants but that can also provide material for a warhead.

The U.S. and ally Israel also want Iran to give up long-range ballistic missiles, stop supporting groups around the West Asia and stop using force to quell internal protests.

Iran ‌says it refuses to discuss issues beyond the atomic file, calling efforts to limit its missile arsenal a red line. Satellite pictures have ​tracked both Iranian work to repair and fortify sites since last summer, showing work at both nuclear and missile sites, as well as preparations at U.S. bases across the West Asia over the ⁠past month.

Iran’s joint exercise with Russia came days into an extended series of Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of ⁠Oman, with Iranian state television showing special forces units deployed on helicopters and ships.

In a sign of growing concern over the increased tensions, Poland on Thursday (February 19, 2026) became the latest European country to urge its citizens to ‌leave Iran, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk saying Poles may only have hours to evacuate. Mr. Trump began threatening strikes on Iran again in January as Iranian authorities crushed widespread protests with deadly violence that left thousands dead ​across the country.

Tensions remained high in West Asia on Thursday (February 19, 2026) as the U.S. continued to bolster its military presence in the region, Iran conducted naval drills along with Russia in the Persian Gulf and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indirectly urged Iranians to resist any external aggression.

“There are many reasons and arguments that one could make for a strike against Iran,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in Washington, adding that “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump.”

U.S. media reported on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) that President Donald Trump would decide whether to strike Iran or not as soon as this weekend. The U.S. has deployed one aircraft carrier and dozens of fighter jets, warships, guided destroyers, fuel tankers and missile defence systems to the region. A second aircraft carrier is expected to reach the Mediterranean Sea next week.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted a verse from Quran in social media on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), indicating that an attack could be imminent and urging Iranians to resist. “So should anyone aggress against you, assail him in the manner he assailed you,” it read.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) that Iranian and Russian forces have successfully carried out a mock operation to rescue a hijacked vessel during combat naval drills near the Bandar Abbas port in the Persian Gulf. This is the second live-fire drill IRGC is carrying out since tensions between the U.S. and Iran spiked last month.

Iran and the U.S. held a second round of talks on February 17, 2026 in Geneva under Oman’s mediation. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi had said both sides had made “progress” in talks and agreed on “guiding principles” for future talks. But the Americans were less optimistic. Vice-President J.D. Vance said in an interview that “gaps remain” between the two sides.

Iran has said it would negotiate only about its nuclear programme, while the U.S., according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, wants to put Iran’s missile programme and its support for regional non-state allies also on the agenda. The U.S. also wants Iran to end uranium enrichment completely.

Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, said on Wednesday (February 18, 2026) that Iran would not abandon its right to nuclear enrichment. ”Iran’s nuclear programme is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology,” Mr. Eslami said at an event in Tehran, according to state media.

In June, the U.S. joined Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Mr. Trump then claimed that the U.S. “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear programme. Mr. Trump last month threatened to use force amid protests in the country. He later asked Iran to make a deal over its nuclear programme or face “profound consequences”.

Iran has said it was not seeking to build a bomb, but has ruled out giving up its nuclear programme entirely.

“The complexity of nuclear technologies is extremely high, and their equipment and infrastructure are not easily obtainable, particularly under conditions where supply routes are tainted by Zionist infiltration and sabotage,” Mr. Eslami noted. “For this reason, Iran was compelled to create the entire chain of research, design, construction, testing, and technological maturation internally; a path that has now borne fruit,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump ​said on Monday (February 16, 2026) that he would be ‌involved “indirectly” in talks between Iran and ​the U.S. over Tehran’s nuclear program ⁠set to begin on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

“I’ll ‌be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they’ll be very important,” Mr. Trump ‌told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Tensions ‌are ⁠soaring ahead of the talks, ⁠with the U.S. deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The U.S. military is preparing for the ​possibility of a ‌sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.

Asked about the prospects for a deal, Mr. Trump ‌said Iran sought tough negotiations but learned ​the consequences of such a hardened stance last summer when the U.S. ⁠bombed Iranian nuclear sites.

Mr. Trump suggested Iranians were motivated this time to negotiate.

“I don’t think they want ‌the consequences of not making a deal,” Mr. Trump said.

Prior to the U.S. joining Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites in June, Iran-U.S. nuclear talks had stalled over Washington’s demand that Tehran forgo enrichment on ‌its soil, which the U.S. views as a pathway ​to an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Iran’s civil defence organisation on Monday (February 16, 2026) held a ⁠chemical defence drill in the Pars Special Economic ⁠Energy Zone to strengthen preparedness for potential chemical incidents in the energy hub ‌located in southern Iran.

Iran said on Saturday (October 18, 2025) that it was no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear programme as a landmark 10-year deal between it and world powers expired, though Tehran reiterated its “commitment to diplomacy”.

The 2015 deal — signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — saw the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme. But the pact had already been in tatters after Washington unilaterally withdrew during President Donald Trump’s first term, with Iran later pulling back from its commitments.

The reimposition of U.N. sanctions in September at the urging of three of the deal’s European signatories rendered the accord effectively moot. From now on, “all of the provisions [of the deal], including the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear programme and the related mechanisms are considered terminated”, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the day of the pact’s expiration. “Iran firmly expresses its commitment to diplomacy,” it added.

Western powers have long accused Iran of secretly seeking nuclear weapons — something it has repeatedly denied, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes such as energy production.

The deal’s “termination day” was set for October 18, 2025, exactly 10 years after it was enshrined in the U.N.’s Security Council Resolution 2231.

The accord capped Iran’s uranium enrichment at 3.67% in exchange for sanctions relief and provided for strict supervision of its nuclear activities by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But Washington left the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, after which Tehran began stepping up its nuclear programme.

According to the IAEA, Iran is the only country without a nuclear weapons programme to enrich uranium to 60%. That is close to the threshold of 90% required for a bomb, and well above the level needed for civilian nuclear use.

Irresponsible actions

In July, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA following the war with Israel, with Tehran pointing to the agency’s failure to condemn Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.

The unprecedented bombing campaign by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington. At the initiative of France, Britain and Germany, widespread U.N. sanctions against Iran returned into force in late September for the first time in a decade.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter addressed to the United Nations on Saturday (October 18, 2025) that the expiration of the 2015 deal renders the sanctions “null and void”.

Britain, France and Germany accuse Iran of not cooperating with the IAEA and would like it to return to negotiations with the United States.

“Iran’s efforts to revive the exchanges [with the IAEA] that led to the agreement in Cairo were also sabotaged by the irresponsible actions of the three European countries,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in Saturday’s (October 18) statement, referring to a recent framework to resume cooperation.

Iran’s top diplomat said on Sunday (October 5) that cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog was no longer relevant following the reimposition of international sanctions on the Islamic republic.

“The Cairo agreement is no longer relevant for our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, referring to a September deal with the UN agency.

The deal had set up a framework to resume cooperation and allow the watchdog to inspect Iranian sites, after Tehran suspended cooperation following Israeli and U.S. strikes on its key nuclear sites in June.

But the agreement lost its significance to Iran as Britain, France, and Germany — signatories to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal — triggered the return of the UN sanctions over Tehran’s non-compliance.

Tehran had threatened to halt cooperation with the agency if they sought to reimpose the sanctions.

“The three European countries thought they had a leverage in their hands, threatening to implement a snapback,” Mr. Araghchi said during a meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran.

“Now they have used this lever and seen the results… the three European countries have definitely diminished their role and almost eliminated the justification for negotiations with them.”

He added that the European trio “will have a much smaller role than in the past” in any upcoming diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear dossier.

Iran accused the IAEA of failing to condemn attacks conducted by its arch-enemies on its nuclear installations, despite it being a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Western countries, spearheaded by the United States and joined by Israel, accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and define uranium enrichment as a red line.

Iran categorically rejects the accusations, insisting its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes and that it has a right to enrichment under the NPT.

Some Iranian MPs have floated the idea of leaving the NPT, while President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran will remain committed to its obligations under the treaty.

Araghchi said Tehran’s “decision regarding cooperation with the agency will be announced”, without elaborating, while adding there was still room for diplomacy.

Iran had engaged in talks with the United States starting in April to reach a new deal over its nuclear program.

However, the June attacks on Iranian nuclear, military and residential sites by Israel brought the talks to a halt.

Tehran accused the United States of undermining diplomacy and urged guarantees and recognition of its rights before any possible resumption of negotiations.

A confidential report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog circulated to member states and seen by The Associated Press said Wednesday (September 3, 2025) that Iran increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels before Israel launched its military attack on June 13.

The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of June 13, Iran had 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 32.3 kilograms (71.2 pounds) since the IAEA’s last report in May.

Also read | What is next for Iran’s nuclear programme?

The report stated that this figure is “based on the information provided by Iran, agency verification activities between 17 May 2025 and 12 June 2025 (the day preceding the start of the military attacks), and estimates based on the past operation of the relevant facilities.”

That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

The confidential report also said Iran and the IAEA have not reached an agreement on resuming inspections of sites affected by Israeli and U.S. bombing in June.

The only site inspected since the war has been the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which operates with Russian technical assistance.

The director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said that “technical modalities to enable the full resumption of Agency inspection should be concluded without delay,” the report stated.

The report stated that while the withdrawal of UN inspectors from Iran during the war “was necessary given the overall security situation, Tehran’s “subsequent decision to cut cooperation with the IAEA was ”deeply regrettable.”

As of June 13, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was 9874.9 kilograms, which represents an increase of 627.3 kilograms since the last repot in May, the report said.

The IAEA said that since June 13, it has “not been able to conduct the in-field activities required to collect and verify Iran’s declarations used to estimate the changes to the previously reported stockpile.”

According to the IAEA, approximately 42 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium is theoretically enough to produce one atomic bomb, if enriched further to 90%.

The IAEA also reported that inspectors have not been able to verify Iran’s near bomb-grade stockpile for over two and a half months, which it called “a matter of serious concern.”

Security chief Ali Larijani said Tuesday that Iran was open to nuclear talks with the United States but ruled out any restrictions on its missile programme.

“The path for negotiations with the US is not closed; yet these are the Americans who only pay lip service to talks and do not come to the table; and they wrongly blame Iran for it,” said Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

“By raising unrealisable issues such as missile restrictions, they set a path which negates any talks,” Larijani said in a post on X.

The remarks came days after the United States welcomed a move by European powers to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran but said it remained “available for direct engagement with Iran”.

Nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, which had begun in April, broke off in mid-June when Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities, swiftly followed by the United States.

On Thursday, Britain, France and Germany— the so-called E3 — triggered a “snapback” clause in the moribund 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major powers that allows for UN sanctions to be reimposed in the event of non-compliance with its provisions.

That agreement effectively collapsed in 2018 when US President Donald Trump withdrew from it during his first term and restored crippling sanctions.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington seeks an “enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue” and that “snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”

Following the Israeli and US attacks, Iran suspended cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog and demanded guarantees against military action before resuming any negotiations.

Western governments have repeatedly voiced concern about Iran’s missile programme, calling it a threat to regional security.

In July, France called for a “comprehensive deal” with Tehran that covers not only its nuclear programme but also its missile programme and its regional ambitions.

Iran has insisted that its military capabilities are not up for negotiation.

Western governments suspect Iran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition Tehran has consistently denied.