Iran says US nuclear talks so far 'very intense and serious'

Patrick Sykes and Eltaf Najafizada, Bloomberg News on Feb 26, 2026

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Iran said nuclear talks with the United States have progressed “very intensely and very seriously” as the two sides continued negotiations over a deal into the early evening in Switzerland.

With days to go until President Donald Trump’s deadline to reach an agreement, the two countries started their third round of Omani-mediated discussions in Geneva on Thursday morning. Trump has threatened military action against Iran unless its leaders agree to an accord, sparking fears of a new Middle East war embroiling Gulf Arab oil producers and Israel.

“We hope that going forward the discussion will focus on lifting sanctions and the nuclear issue,” Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Iranian state TV on the sidelines of the meeting. Baghaei added that diplomats will resume discussions between 5:30 and 6 p.m. local time.

The U.S. team is led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is heading the talks for the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state media said parts of the talks were conducted directly, suggesting the lead delegates met instead of dealing only via Omani officials. Iran stated it won’t allow any of its highly enriched uranium to be moved out the country, Press TV said, citing Baghaei.

U.S. officials are yet to comment publicly, though have previously signaled Iran would have to send such stocks of uranium to another nation or dilute them.

The U.S. and Iran have been locked in a tense standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and have traded threats as Trump ordered a substantial military build-up in the Middle East, sending two carrier strike groups to the region as a warning to Iran. Trump had given the Islamic Republic a deadline of March 1-6 to reach a deal.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who’s mediating the talks, said “creative and positive ideas” had been exchanged earlier Thursday and there is “hope to make more progress.”

Global markets are watching closely, with any prolonged conflict in the energy-rich Persian Gulf likely to elevate oil prices and stoke inflation. Benchmark Brent was steady on Thursday at around $71 a barrel as of 3:15 p.m. in London. But it’s up more than 16% this year, largely because of the U.S.-Iran standoff.

Energy traders are focused on signs of disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast that connects key oil producers in the region to world markets. Iran has threatened to retaliate forcefully against any U.S. attack.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have both accelerated exports of crude in recent weeks as tensions have soared.

The U.S.’s vast military build-up in the region, the biggest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is set get a boost in coming days when a second aircraft carrier arrives that could join in any potential attack or help defend against Iranian counter-strikes. A member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet, Avi Dichter, on Thursday confirmed media reports that the U.S. had stationed F-22 fighter jets as well as refueling planes in Israel. It’s rare for Israel to host other countries’ aircraft.

Deal demands

As the talks in Geneva continued, Iranian state media reported a large fire near the country’s biggest oil refinery in the southern port city of Abadan. Video footage posted by the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency showed a large blaze engulfing part of an industrial park in the wider complex that houses the refinery.

There have been no reports so far of casualties or any details about the cause of the fire and its proximity to the refinery, which is on the Persian Gulf and has a capacity of around 500,000 barrels a day.

U.S. demands for a deal have varied, with Trump repeating that he won’t allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon despite its public position – long met with skepticism in the west – that it isn’t seeking one. Washington has also expressed frustration at Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program.

Tehran’s priority in the talks is the lifting of sanctions that have hobbled its economy, fueling a currency crisis that sparked widespread street protests against the Islamic Republic in December.

“We will not discuss our position on the nuclear issue except to affirm the Iranian people’s right to peaceful nuclear energy, and any agreement must primarily include lifting these unjust sanctions,” Baghaei said, emphasizing that Tehran won’t forgo its nuclear program as a whole, including the right to enrich its own uranium.

Iran is considering offering the U.S. investment opportunities in oil, gas and mining, as well as aircraft purchases, as economic benefits to secure a deal, Deputy Foreign Minister Hamid Ghanbari told Iran’s Chamber of Commerce earlier this month, the Tasnim news agency reported.

The last round of negotiations, on Feb. 17, saw the sides agree that they would draft texts for a deal, Iran said at the time, while cautioning that the next stage would be “more difficult and detailed.”

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—With assistance from Dan Williams and Fiona MacDonald.