The second round of talks between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme is scheduled for the upcoming week in Geneva, as informed by the Swiss Foreign Ministry on Saturday.
The first round of ‘indirect’ talks between the two nations took place in Oman, which will also convene the second round of talks. Following this discussion, the United States President Donald Trump had warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement with his administration would be "very traumatic".
Similar talks last year broke down in June as Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, which included the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to curb its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests. Meanwhile, the Gulf Arab nations fear and warn that any attack now could start another regional conflict.t
Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join 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".
The indirect talks on February 6 were between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. The top military commander in the Middle East was also present for the first time. The US administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal, while Tehran refuses to agree.
Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue it. Before the June war, Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60 per cent purity, which is 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.
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