A US official, who declined to be identified, said Iran agreed Tuesday to make detailed proposals in the next two weeks to close gaps in the talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cProgress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,\u201d sayid the official. \u201cThe Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments came after Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the Geneva talks \u201cconstructive\u201d and said<\/a> an understanding was reached on \u201cguiding principles.\u201d<\/p>\n Referring to Araghci\u2019s upbeat assessment, a senior Israeli official quoted by Channel 13 news said that \u201cour impression is that it\u2019s a smokescreen\u201d and that \u201cthe odds for a deal are low.\u201d<\/p>\n A security official was also quoted by the network as saying it was \u201cvery soon\u201d to declare the US and Iran had reached an agreement on curtailing the Islamic Republic\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n \t Meanwhile, Channel 12 news said in an unsourced report that Israel was preparing for the talks to collapse and that the White House gave Israel the impression that further progress in the negotiations was unlikely because the Iranians would not agree to Trump\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n According to the network, Israeli officials assess that Trump and other top American officials want to attack Iran, and that the US president needs to show he has let the negotiations run their course in order lend legitimacy to a potential attack.<\/p>\n High-level Israeli consultations seek to prepare for the possibility that Iran will launch a preemptive strike, and reflect an understanding that Israel will find itself operating alongside the US in case Trump decides to attack Iran, Channel 12 said.<\/p>\n US sends dozens of fighter jets to region, flight trackers show<\/p>\n The negotiations began in Oman\u2019s capital Muscat earlier this month amid a significant US military buildup in the region, which Trump has repeatedly threatened to use, first over Iran\u2019s deadly crackdown on protesters last month and more recently over its nuclear program.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, as the US and Iranian negotiators met for the second time, open-source flight tracking data showed showed that the US military had moved dozens of fighter jets toward the Middle East over the past day.<\/p>\n The aircraft included F-22, F-35, and F-16 jets. Several refuelers were also spotted on the move, according to social media accounts dedicated to tracking military flights.<\/p>\n A US official also confirmed to the Axios<\/a> news site that more than 50 fighter jets were moved to the region in the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n #USAF<\/a> United States Air Force \u2013 Middle East Activity (Coronet) There are currently 36x F-16s and 12x F-22s on the move, or about to depart towards the Middle East. 12x F-16s each from Aviano and Spangdahlem in Europe, and 12x from McEntire Joint National\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/5OsSSHZVp3<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/eZGqbqvnyg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Armchair Admiral ???????? (@ArmchairAdml) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Trump on Friday said regime change in Iran \u201cwould be the best thing that could happen\u201d and confirmed sending a second aircraft carrier to the region \u201cin case we don\u2019t make a deal.\u201d Ahead of the talks on Tuesday, he told reporters aboard Air Force One: \u201cI don\u2019t think they want the consequences of not making a deal.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei retorted that \u201cA warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it.\u201d<\/p>\n Washington has demanded Iran cease enrichment activities and relinquish its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity, a small step away from the 90% that is considered weapons grade.<\/p>\n Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview published Tuesday that Tehran is open to \u201cverification\u201d that it is not seeking an atomic weapon, but insisted that it has the right its nuclear program for peaceful purposes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are absolutely not seeking nuclear weapons,\u201d said Pezeshkian, citing Khamenei\u2019s 2003 religious ruling that nuclear weapons were forbidden in Islam. \u201cIf anyone wants to verify this, we are open to such verification to take place.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran whose leaders are sworn to Israel\u2019s destruction, consistently denies seeking nuclear weapons, but has enriched uranium to levels with no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.<\/p>\n Emanuel Fabian and agencies contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tIran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a speech during a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian talks nuclear talks, in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 17, 2026. (Valentin Flauraud \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
17 February \u2013 1129z<\/p>\n
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