Third Round of U.S.-Iran Talks Ends in Geneva With Progress Claimed, Few Details

Indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva ended Thursday without a deal, with Oman’s foreign minister, who served as mediator, saying “significant progress” had been made, according to Al Jazeera, Defense News and Foreign Policy. Badr al-Busaidi said the delegations would consult their capitals before talks resume, and technical-level discussions are planned in Vienna next week, Defense News and Al Jazeera reported. Defense News described the outcome as neither a deal nor a dramatic breakthrough.

The U.S. delegation was led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Iran’s by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Al Jazeera and Defense News reported. It was the third round of talks this month. Defense News reported that neither the White House nor Iran’s leadership commented immediately, and Al Jazeera likewise noted that no public U.S. statement on the outcome had been released.

Iran’s position was set out before the session. Araghchi wrote that Iran “will under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon,” Defense News reported, a line CBS News also carried on Wednesday, while maintaining its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said Iran refuses to include its ballistic missiles in the talks, which he called a major problem, according to Al Jazeera, Defense News and Foreign Policy.

Washington added pressure the day before the talks. The Treasury Department imposed new sanctions tied to Iran’s oil exports and its ballistic missile program, Foreign Policy reported; Al Jazeera said the measures covered more than 30 individuals, entities and vessels accused of financing Iran’s oil sales and weapons programs.

The diplomacy is unfolding beside a large military buildup. Defense News described the largest U.S. deployment in the Middle East since the Iraq War, including two carrier strike groups, and Foreign Policy described it as the largest since the 2003 invasion. Al Jazeera reported that Trump ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and additional ships and personnel to the region to join the Abraham Lincoln group. Trump has said he prefers diplomacy but will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, Foreign Policy and Reuters reported. Iran has vowed deadly retaliation if it is attacked, according to Defense News and Al Jazeera.

What happens next depends on the consultations in Washington and Tehran and on the technical meetings in Vienna. The mediator’s description of progress came without any detail from either side on what had been agreed.