US, Iran To Hold New Round Of Talks In Geneva

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Geneva – Iran and the United States will hold a second round of talks over Tehran's nuclear programme next week, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said.

Oman, which welcomed the first round of indirect talks on February 6, will host the talks in Geneva, the Swiss ministry said on Saturday, without specifying which days.

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Switzerland has been representing the US interests in Iran since 1980, when the two countries cut off diplomatic relations.

The second round of talks will come after Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani, travelled to Oman and Qatar, another Persian Gulf country involved in diplomatic efforts between Iran and the US, earlier this week.

Larijani said after his return that negotiations with the US will continue, although he insisted that the Americans had yet to provide Iran with a concrete proposal.

Read Also US-Israel Talks Highlight Rift Over Iran Approach Iran Security Chief in Oman as Nuclear Diplomacy Resumes

After the first discussions, US President Donald Trump 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 that included the US bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear programme. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own.

Gulf Arab nations have warned any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.

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 with the US team for the first time.

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The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any deal. Tehran says it won't agree to that.

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his nation is“ready for any kind of verification”.

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.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rushed to Washington this week to meet with Trump, has pressed for any deal to include steps to neutralise Iran's ballistic missile programme and end its support for regional groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. ~AP

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