A second round of talks between Iran and the United States, aimed at resolving their dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme, have ended in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the two countries had reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles”, but work still needs to be done. The US has not yet commented.
The indirect discussions followed repeated military threats by Washington against Iran over the country’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, as well as its nuclear activities.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of the latest talks, US President Donald Trump said he believed Iran wanted to make a deal.
The foreign ministry in Tehran, meanwhile, said it believed that the US position on the nuclear issue had moved towards “a more realistic one”.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, mediated by Oman, Iran said it would focus on its nuclear programme and the potential lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the US.
Washington has previously indicated it wanted to discuss other issues as well, such as Iran’s missile development.
Framing the talks as “very important”, Trump said he would be “indirectly” involved and suggested Tehran was motivated this time to negotiate.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump said, adding that Iran learned the consequences of a tough posture in talks last summer when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
“We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s,” the US president said, referring to the stealth bombers that carried out the bombings. “I hope they’re going to be more reasonable.”
Trump’s threats come amid a US military build-up in the Middle East over the past few weeks.
Credit: bbc.com
