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<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 16 Feb 202616 Feb 2026<\/p>\n
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Geneva for high-stakes second round of nuclear talks with the United States aimed at reducing tensions and\u00a0avert a new military confrontation that Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned could turn into a regional conflict<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,\u201d Araghchi wrote on X on Monday. \u201cWhat is not on the table: submission before threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n Iran and the US renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their \u2060decades-long dispute over Tehran\u2019s nuclear programme as US deploys warships, including a second aircraft carrier, to the region as mediators work to prevent a war.<\/p>\n Araghchi said he will be joined by Iranian nuclear experts for a \u201cdeep technical discussion\u201d later on Monday with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).<\/p>\n The United Nations nuclear watchdog has been calling for access to Iran\u2019s main nuclear facilities that were bombed by the US and Israel during the 12-day war in June. Tehran has said there might be a risk of radiation, so an official protocol is required to carry out the unprecedented task of inspecting highly enriched uranium ostensibly buried under the rubble.<\/p>\n Araghchi also said he would meet his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, who mediated the first round of talks<\/a> between Iran and the US since the war earlier this month.<\/p>\n Iran has repeatedly emphasised that it will not agree to Washington\u2019s demand for zero nuclear enrichment, and considers its missile programme a \u201cred line\u201d that cannot be negotiated<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the US continues to build up its military presence in the region, with President Donald Trump saying a change of power in Iran \u201cwould be the best thing that could happen\u201d and sending in a second aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n Trump is again likely to send his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to represent the White House in the Geneva talks.<\/p>\n The talks also come over a month after Iran\u2019s deadly crackdown against nationwide protests, with Iranian officials claiming \u201cterrorists\u201d and \u201crioters\u201d armed and funded by the US and Israel were behind the unrest.<\/p>\n The UN and international human rights organisations have blamed Iranian authorities for the widespread use of lethal force against peaceful protesters, which killed thousands, mainly on the nights of January 8 and 9.<\/p>\n In the other diplomatic track pursued in Switzerland on Tuesday, officials will be discussing ways of ending the Ukraine war, which is approaching the end of its fourth year after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in 2022.<\/p>\n