The United States and Iran will hold a new round of talks on a potential nuclear deal on Thursday, with Iran reportedly ready to suggest fresh concessions.
The talks will be held in Geneva, similar to last week’s negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had told CBS News that negotiators would likely meet to seek a “fast deal” on Thursday, and Oman, which has mediated the talks, later confirmed the meeting.
“Pleased to confirm U.S.-Iran negotiations are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalising the deal,” said Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.
“If they want to find a resolution for Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the only way is diplomacy,” Araghchi told CBS. “And we have proved this in the past, and I believe that still, there is a good chance to have a diplomatic solution which is based on a win-win game, and a solution is at our reach.”
The two countries said they had made progress at last week’s talks. Iran would offer the U.S. a draft of a potential agreement in the following days, Araghchi had said.
Iran is now prepared to consider sending half of its most enriched uranium abroad, diluting its uranium stockpiles, and joining a regional enrichment consortium if the U.S. ends sanctions on the country, Reuters reported. The U.S. would officially recognise Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear enrichment under this arrangement.
The deal would also reportedly allow U.S. companies to participate in Iran’s oil and gas industries as contractors.
The negotiations come as the U.S. continues its military buildup in the region, with its largest aircraft carrier heading towards the Middle East. U.S. President Donald Trump last week set a 10-day deadline for a deal, and is “curious as to… why they [Iran] haven’t capitulated”, according to Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Anti-government protests in Iran have resumed, meanwhile, with students demonstrating at universities in Tehran and the second-most populous city, Mashhad. At least 7,015 people were killed, including 6,508 protesters, across 50 days of demonstrations from December to February.
