UPDATE - 3rd round of Iran-US indirect nuclear talks in Geneva concludes

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – The third round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States concluded in Geneva, the Omani foreign minister said Thursday evening.

Writing on US social media company X, Badr al-Busaidi, whose country is mediating the talks, reported “significant progress” in the negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

“We will resume soon after consultation in the respective capitals. Discussions on a technical level will take place next week in Vienna. I am grateful to all concerned for their efforts: the negotiators, the IAEA, and our hosts the Swiss government,” he added.

Thursday’s talks were the longest round held so far, divided into two sessions before and after a break, during which the two sides consulted with their respective capitals.

After exchanging notes through the Omani foreign minister and UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi for more than three hours, the two parties adjourned the session at around 13:30 local time (12:30 GMT).

The post-break second session of the third round of talks began at around 17:45 local time (16:45 GMT) after nearly four hours and ended at 19:30 local time (18:30 GMT).

Earlier, there were reports that the Omani mediators urged the two negotiating parties to continue the negotiations on Friday, but that didn’t materialise.

This round of talks, held at one of the buildings belonging to the Embassy of Oman in the Swiss city, lasted over five hours, more than the first round in Muscat earlier this month and the second round in Geneva on Feb. 17.

After a three-hour pause in the talks, the two negotiating teams reconvened at the Embassy of Oman in Geneva to continue their indirect nuclear negotiations.

According to Iran’s state TV, both sides sought to use the pause to consult with their respective capitals on details of the negotiations, effectively making it the longest round.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking to reporters after the break, said the talks on Thursday were held under an “intensive and serious” atmosphere.

Baghaei said serious discussions were held on nuclear-related issues and sanctions relief, and that “significant and practical proposals” were put forward in both areas, with both sides pursuing the discussions in earnest.

For his part, the Omani foreign minister said the two sides exchanged “creative and positive ideas” during Thursday’s talks, before the break.

Like the previous rounds held in Muscat and Geneva, respectively, the Iranian delegation was led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the American delegation was led by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), joined the course of the talks on Thursday as a technical observer.

As in previous rounds, a direct meeting also took place between Araghchi and Witkoff as part of diplomatic courtesy, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

- US demands

Conflicting reports about the proposals discussed during Thursday’s talks continue to circulate.

According to Axios, US demands include making any new agreement permanent, Iran forgoing its stockpile of enriched uranium and guaranteeing that there is no pathway toward the production of a nuclear weapon if it retains the right to enrichment.

The Wall Street Journal claimed that Washington has demanded the dismantling of three key nuclear facilities in Iran and the transfer of enriched uranium to Washington.

The Iranian side has not yet commented on these demands.

Iranian state media, however, said that Iran has reiterated it has no plans to build a nuclear weapon, transfer the enriched stockpiles outside the country, end the production of nuclear fuel or reduce uranium enrichment to zero.

One of Iran’s key demands in these negotiations is the lifting of US sanctions, which would help relieve the economic pressure faced by people in the country.

As attested by the Omani Foreign Ministry, both sides were serious in their approach in this round of talks, demonstrating “unprecedented openness” to new ideas aimed at reaching a deal.

Before heading to Geneva, Araghchi said Iran would resume talks in Geneva “with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal in the shortest possible time.”

He described it as “a historic opportunity to strike an unprecedented agreement,” while also affirming that Iran will “under no circumstances ever” develop a nuclear weapon.

The talks came amid a massive US military buildup in the Persian Gulf region as well as drills by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).