Iran has indicated it is seeking a nuclear agreement with the United States that delivers economic gains for both sides, with potential cooperation in energy, mining and aviation reportedly under discussion ahead of a second round of negotiations.
Tehran and Washington resumed talks earlier this month aimed at resolving their long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme and averting the risk of renewed military confrontation.
The discussions come amid heightened regional tensions, with the U.S. dispatching a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East and preparing contingency plans should diplomacy fail, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Speaking in Bratislava, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump preferred a diplomatic outcome but acknowledged uncertainty over the prospects.
"No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we're going to try," Rubio said.
Despite previously warning it would strike U.S. bases in the region if attacked, Iran struck a more conciliatory tone on Sunday.
Hamid Ghanbari, deputy director for economic diplomacy at Iran’s foreign ministry, told the semi-official Fars news agency that mutual economic interests were central to securing a durable agreement.
"For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns," Ghanbari said.
"Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations," Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers had not secured U.S. economic interests.
The original 2015 accord unravelled after Washington withdrew in 2018 under President Trump, reimposing sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for what the administration argued were insufficient constraints on Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
According to a source cited by Reuters, a U.S. delegation including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner is expected to meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday.
The meeting was also confirmed by a senior Iranian official.
"Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be travelling, I think they are travelling right now, to have important meetings, and we'll see how that turns out," Rubio said, without providing further details.
Unlike the multilateral negotiations that led to the 2015 deal, the current talks are confined to Iran and the U.S., with Oman acting as mediator.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has travelled to Geneva for indirect discussions with U.S. representatives and meetings with the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signalled Tehran’s willingness to show flexibility in exchange for sanctions relief. Speaking to the BBC, he said the ball was “in America's court to prove that they want to do a deal”, adding: "If they are sincere, I'm sure we will be on the road to an agreement".
He cited comments by Iran’s atomic energy chief suggesting the country could dilute its most highly enriched uranium as a sign of readiness to compromise, provided sanctions are lifted.
However, Takht-Ravanchi reiterated that Iran would not agree to zero uranium enrichment, a longstanding sticking point.
Washington has viewed domestic enrichment as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons development, an allegation Tehran denies.
The diplomatic push comes against a backdrop of military escalation. In June, the U.S. joined Israel in air strikes targeting Iranian nuclear sites.
At the same time, Washington is intensifying economic pressure. During a recent White House meeting, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly agreed that the U.S. would seek to curb Iran’s oil exports to China.
