US-Iran talks could resume Friday pending a nuclear proposal - report
Washington signals readiness for Geneva meeting if Tehran submits draft within 48 hours
US negotiators are prepared to hold another round of nuclear talks with Iran on Friday in Geneva if Tehran submits a detailed proposal within the next 48 hours, a senior US official told Axios on Sunday.
“If Iran gives a draft proposal, the US is ready to meet in Geneva on Friday in order to start detailed negotiations to see if we can get a nuclear deal,” the senior US official said. The official added that the Trump administration is currently waiting for Iran’s proposal and confirmed that both sides could also discuss the possibility of an interim agreement before a full nuclear deal is reached.
President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to be in Geneva on Feb. 27 if the proposal is delivered early this week. During the previous round of talks in Geneva last Tuesday, the two officials asked Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to provide a detailed written proposal within days.
According to the report, Witkoff and Kushner told Araghchi that Trump’s position is “zero enrichment” of uranium on Iranian soil while indicating the US would consider an Iranian proposal that includes “token enrichment” if Iran can prove the plan blocks every path to a nuclear weapon. Araghchi said Friday in an interview on MS Now that he would complete the draft over the weekend and deliver it once Tehran’s political leadership approves it.
The diplomatic effort comes amid heightened tensions. A senior US official told Axios that the current push is likely the last opportunity Trump will give Iran before considering a military operation. Senator Lindsey Graham told Axios that several advisers are urging the president not to bomb Iran. “I understand concerns about major military operations in the Middle East given past entanglements. However, the voices who counsel against getting entangled seem to ignore the consequences of letting evil go unchecked,” Graham said.
US officials cited by the outlet said Trump could change course at any time, though several advisers are currently counseling patience as Washington awaits Iran’s proposal.