As in the previous round in Muscat, the agenda of the Tuesday negotiations focused primarily on the nuclear issue and the lifting of illegal US sanctions.
“It is clear that the negotiations will be about the nuclear issue,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said moments before the start of talks.
He noted that the format of the talks would mirror the talks in Muscat on February 6, where Iran and US negotiating teams conveyed messages through Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.
The Islamic Republic has underscored that the preservation of its peaceful uranium enrichment program remains a key principle.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian delegation, accompanied by his Deputy for Political Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Deputy for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy for Economic Diplomacy, Hamid Ghanbari, and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
Technical, legal, and economic experts were also part of the Iranian negotiating team in this round.
In the early hours of his arrival in Geneva, Araghchi clarified on social media that submission under threats on the part of Tehran was completely off the table.
He also stated that he had traveled to the Swiss city with “real ideas” aimed at reaching a fair and balanced agreement.
Meeting with IAEA chief ahead of talks
On Monday, a day before the scheduled talks, Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Geneva.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed technical issues related to Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA within the framework of safeguards and the Iranian Parliament’s law on the matter that has conditioned collaboration with the agency on ensuring the realization of Iran’s rights, including the safety of its nuclear facilities.
Iran’s technical viewpoints regarding its indirect negotiations with the United States were also addressed.
Omani mediation and diplomatic engagements
Oman is expected to continue its intermediary role in the indirect negotiations. Araghchi also held a meeting on Monday with his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi, in the Swiss city, where he presented Iran’s key points within the framework of the country’s negotiation strategy.
The foreign minister’s visit to Geneva also includes attending and delivering a speech at the Disarmament Conference, as well as holding several diplomatic meetings.
Context of renewed contacts
The upcoming talks follow the resumption of indirect nuclear negotiations on February 6 in the Omani capital Muscat, led by Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
The negotiations are taking place amid heightened regional tensions. US President Donald Trump has ordered additional military deployments to the region, including an extra aircraft carrier, thousands of troops, warplanes, and guided-missile destroyers, according to US officials.
In late January, Trump spoke of “another beautiful armada” of warships heading towards Iran and said that failure to reach a deal would bring consequences “far worse” than the illegal June strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Tehran has underlined that it would respond decisively to any act of fresh military adventurism, as in the case of the US attacks last June, which prompted a ballistic missile barrage against Al Udeid, Washington’s most important regional airbase, which is located in Qatar.
Press TV