US–Iran nuclear talks resume in Geneva amid military posturing, domestic unrest

The United States and Iran opened a second round of negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday, 17 February over Tehran’s nuclear programme, even as both sides signalled resolve through military manoeuvres and sharpened rhetoric.

Iranian officials met in the Swiss city with Omani mediators acting as go-betweens, continuing the indirect format adopted during the first round of talks held in Oman on 6 February. Iranian state television said the discussions would focus strictly on nuclear issues, excluding domestic matters such as last month’s deadly crackdown on protesters.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that Washington could use force if Iran refuses to curb its nuclear activities. Tehran has responded that any military action would be met with retaliation. Trump has also criticised Iran over its handling of nationwide protests.

The earlier talks in Oman were conducted through intermediaries, with American and Iranian delegations not engaging face-to-face. Details of the format in Geneva have not been fully disclosed. Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelled for the new round, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to Budapest, said Washington remained open to a negotiated outcome.

“I’m not going to prejudge these talks,” Rubio said. “The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things.”

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, leading Tehran’s delegation, met Monday with the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency in Geneva ahead of the talks. Writing on X, he said: “I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats.”

Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump described the negotiations as significant but expressed scepticism about Tehran’s approach. “I’ll be involved in those talks — indirectly — and they’ll be very important, and we’ll see what can happen,” he said, later adding: “I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal.”

Protests and 40-Day mourning

The diplomatic push comes as Iran marks 40 days — the traditional Muslim mourning period — since one of the bloodiest phases of a recent nationwide protest wave. Activists say thousands were killed during a sweeping crackdown, particularly overnight between January 8 and 9, though the figures cannot be independently verified due to severe communication restrictions imposed by Iranian authorities.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has tracked previous unrest in Iran, put the death toll at over 7,000. Iranian state media announced that authorities would hold a memorial at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque and blamed the unrest on “violent actions by armed groups allegedly directed by foreign intelligence agencies.”

Naval drills and US military build-up

Tensions have also played out at sea. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard began fresh exercises in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — critical waterways through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.

Maritime security firm EOS Risk Group reported that vessels transiting the region were warned of possible live-fire drills in Iranian territorial waters. Iranian state media confirmed manoeuvres but did not detail live-fire operations.

The drills follow US moves to reinforce its military presence in the Middle East. Trump announced that the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, would deploy to the region, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships already operating there. US forces last week intercepted an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and reported an attempt by Iranian vessels to stop a US-flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf Arab states have warned that any escalation could trigger a wider regional conflict, at a time when the Middle East remains volatile following the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza and broader Iran–Israel tensions earlier this year.

Sanctions remain central sticking point

At the heart of the negotiations is Washington’s demand that Iran limit uranium enrichment and provide assurances it is not pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran insists its programme is peaceful and has resisted calls to halt enrichment or surrender its uranium stockpile.

Tehran has signalled that sanctions relief will be essential to any agreement. Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said over the weekend that compromise was possible — provided the US demonstrates sincerity.

“The ball is in America’s court. They have to prove they want to have a deal with us,” he told the BBC. “If we see a sincerity on their part, I am sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement.”

He added: “We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our programme provided that they are also ready to talk about the sanctions.”

The current diplomatic effort follows months of stalled contacts that were derailed by a brief but intense conflict between Israel and Iran in June, during which US forces struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Prior to that confrontation, Iran had been enriching uranium to 60 per cent purity — a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.

With AP/PTI inputs