U.S. and Iran Hold Second Round of Nuclear Talks in Geneva

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that the United States and Iran reached a general understanding on “guiding principles” in a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, mediated by Oman, according to Al Jazeera, CBS News and NBC News. He told state television the sides would now begin working on the text of a potential agreement. “This does not mean that we can quickly reach a final agreement, but at least the path has begun,” Araghchi said, as quoted by CBS. The U.S. delegation was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, CBS and NBC reported.

Washington was more guarded. A U.S. official told NBC News that “progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss.” Vice President JD Vance, in a Fox News interview quoted by NBC and by Al Jazeera, gave a mixed review: “In some ways, it went well,” he said, but “the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.” Before the talks, Trump had said the U.S. would involve itself in the negotiations “indirectly,” and CBS noted that his threat to launch a new attack if no deal is reached hung over the discussions.

Before the talks, Araghchi wrote on X that he was in Geneva “with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal,” adding that “submission before threats” is not on the table, Al Jazeera and CBS reported. He also met Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Monday. The agency has been seeking access to Iranian sites bombed in the 12-day war in June 2025, Al Jazeera said, and CBS reported that Iran has refused requests to inspect them.

The core disagreement involves what is on the table. Washington has sought to widen the talks to include Iran’s ballistic missiles and, Al Jazeera reported, its support for armed groups in the region. Tehran says it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile program, according to NBC News and Al Jazeera, and it wants relief from U.S. sanctions. CBS wrote that Tehran is eager to see the sanctions eased, and NBC quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the talks had entered details on both sanctions relief and nuclear subjects. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has pressed for limits on ballistic missiles in any deal, CBS reported.

The military backdrop is heavy. The United States has one aircraft carrier strike group in the area and a second on its way, CBS and Al Jazeera reported. Trump has said that a change of government in Iran “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen,” according to Al Jazeera and NBC, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that “a warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,” per CBS and Al Jazeera. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been holding drills in the Strait of Hormuz, and state media said parts of the strait would close for a few hours for “security precautions” as the talks began, Al Jazeera and NBC reported. Iran has threatened to close the waterway if attacked.

CBS reported no confirmed timetable for the next meeting: Araghchi said no date had been set and that both sides would draft texts, exchange them and then fix a date for a third round.