Iran and the United States reached an agreement on a “set of guiding principles” to pave the way for a broader deal during talks in Geneva on Tuesday, according to Iran’s top diplomat, after a series of mutual military threats, according to AFP.
Discussions brokered by Oman have sought to prevent potential US military action to curb Iran’s nuclear program, while Tehran has pressed for the lifting of US sanctions that are severely affecting its economy.
Iran’s supreme leader warned earlier in the day that the country was capable of sinking a US warship recently deployed to the region, while US President Donald Trump a day earlier hinted at unspecified “consequences” if the two sides did not reach a deal, AFP reported.
Here is what Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi had to say
“In the end, we were able to reach a broad agreement on a set of guiding principles on which we will move forward and start working on the text of a potential agreement,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state television after Tuesday’s talks, which he described as “more constructive” than the previous round earlier this month.
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He added that once the two sides come up with drafts of the text of the agreement, “drafts will be exchanged and a date for the third round (of talks) will be set”.
However, Araghchi acknowledged that “it will take time to narrow” the gap between the two countries’ positions.
Omani FM said “good progress…”
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the two sides had made “good progress” but also warned that “a lot of work remains,” according to AFP.
Trump has repeatedly warned of military action against Iranian pressure, and Washington has deployed two aircraft carriers to the region. Satellite images showed the first, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrying nearly 80 aircraft, was located about 700 kilometers (435 miles) off Iran’s coast on Sunday.
Its location puts at least a dozen American F-35 and F-18 fighter jets within range. A second carrier was dispatched over the weekend.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters before the meeting.
But Khamenei followed up his tough talk after the talks began, saying Iran has weapons capable of sinking a US warship.
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“We keep hearing that they sent a warship towards Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but a weapon capable of sinking it is even more dangerous,” he said in a speech, according to AFP.
He added that Trump will not succeed in destroying the Islamic Republic.
Iran has insisted that the talks be limited to the nuclear issue, although Washington has previously pushed for discussion of other topics, including Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support for armed groups in the region.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said on Tuesday that lifting sanctions must be an integral part of any deal.
– War Games –
Iran also sought to show its military might, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launching a series of war games in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday to prepare for “potential security and military threats”, Iranian state television said.
Iran’s leaders have often warned they could close the strait, a vital oil and gas shipping corridor. On Tuesday, state television announced that Tehran would close sections of the waterway during military exercises for “security” reasons.
This handout photo released by the official Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) website Sepanews on February 16, 2026 shows a ship firing a missile during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and the Navy in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 16, state media reported, on the eve of talks with the United States. (Photo: SEPAH NEWS / AFP) (AFP)
Previous diplomatic efforts fell apart last year after Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran in June, sparking a 12-day conflict during which the United States briefly joined in bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday: “We hope there will be a deal.”
His counterpart, Araghchi, said before the talks that he too had come to Geneva with “real ideas” for a deal, but added that there would be no “submission to threats”.
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The West fears that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
Araghchi met International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “for a deep technical discussion” in Geneva on Monday.
Washington sent its Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Geneva.
On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be “the best thing that could happen.”
Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Berlin-based Center for Middle East and Global Order, said Iran was facing an “existential dilemma”.
“Giving in to US demands could bring relief from sanctions, which it desperately needs to stabilize the regime and fund its repressive apparatus,” he told AFP.
“However, any significant concessions on nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and regional proxies would sensitively undermine its ideological and military standing.”