US, Iran to hold new round of nuclear talks in Geneva next week
Washington is pushing Tehran to limit its nuclear programme, with US President Donald Trump warning that failure to reach an agreement would be “very traumatic”.
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GENEVA: Switzerland said on Saturday (Feb 14) that Oman would host talks between the United States and Iran in Geneva next week, with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear programme.
"Switzerland stands ready at all times to offer its good offices to facilitate dialogue between the United States and Iran," a Swiss foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
On Feb 6, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks in Oman with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump's influential son-in-law Jared Kushner. The talks were indirect, with the Omanis acting as mediators.
Trump has recently focused his military threats on Tehran's nuclear programme, which US forces struck last June during Israel's unprecedented 12-day war with Iran.
After the first discussions, US President Donald Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement with his administration would be “very traumatic.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own.
Trump also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.
Gulf Arab nations have warned that any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.
Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to other military assets the US has built up in the region.
He also said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen”.
SWISS REPRESENTS US INTERESTS IN IRAN
Switzerland has played a key role in diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States for decades.
Renowned for its neutrality, Switzerland has been representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.
In its role as the so-called protecting power, Switzerland has for decades allowed the two feuding nations to maintain a minimum of diplomatic and consular relations.
The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles all consular affairs between the United States and Iran, including passport requests, altering civil status and consular protection for US citizens in Iran.
Under the protecting power mandate, "Switzerland can either offer to act as a go-between on its own initiative or can fulfil this function at the request of the parties concerned, provided that all those involved agree," the foreign ministry says on its website.
TEHRAN WILL NOT AGREE TO NO ENRICHMENT
The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal. Tehran says it won’t agree to that.
Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. However, its officials increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his nation is “ready for any kind of verification”. However, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Trump has suggested in recent weeks that his top priority is for Iran to scale back its nuclear programme. Iran has said it wants talks to focus solely on the nuclear programme.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Trump in Washington this week, has pressed for any deal to include steps to neutralise Iran's ballistic missile programme and end funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
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