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Iran said Tuesday (February 17, 2026) it had agreed with the United States successful talks successful Geneva connected "guiding principles" for a woody to debar conflict, but Vice-President J.D. Vance said Tehran had not yet acknowledged each of Washington's reddish lines.
The Omani-mediated talks were aimed astatine averting the anticipation of U.S. subject involution to curb Iran's atomic programme, weeks aft the cleric-run authorities killed thousands of radical arsenic it crushed wide demonstrations.
Iran's Supreme person had warned earlier successful the time that the state had the quality to descend a U.S. warship precocious deployed to the region, aft President Donald Trump alluded to "consequences" should the 2 sides neglect to onslaught a deal.
"Ultimately, we were capable to scope wide statement connected a acceptable of guiding principles, based connected which we volition determination guardant and statesman moving connected the substance of a imaginable agreement," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told State tv aft Tuesday's talks, which helium described arsenic "more constructive" than the erstwhile circular earlier this month.
He added that erstwhile some sides had travel up with draught texts for an agreement, "the drafts would beryllium exchanged and a day for a 3rd circular (of talks) would beryllium set".
In Washington, Mr. Vance besides appeared to bespeak that the United States preferred diplomacy but painted a much mixed picture.
"In immoderate ways, it went well; they agreed to conscionable afterwards," Mr. Vance said successful a Fox News interview.
"But successful different ways, it was precise wide that the president has acceptable immoderate reddish lines that the Iranians are not yet consenting to really admit and enactment through," Mr. Vance told "The Story with Martha MacCallum" program.
"We're going to support connected moving it. But of course, the president reserves the quality to accidental erstwhile helium thinks that diplomacy has reached its earthy end," Mr. Vance said.
Key gaps
Mr. Araghchi besides acknowledged that it "will instrumentality clip to narrow" the spread betwixt the countries aft the talks with Trump's person and roving envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Iran for years has been seeking alleviation from sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States, including a U.S.-imposed prohibition connected different countries buying its oil.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the 2 sides had made "good progress", but likewise cautioned "much enactment is near to beryllium done".
Washington has ordered 2 craft carriers to the portion arsenic it piles connected pressure. The archetypal — the USS Abraham Lincoln, with astir 80 craft — was positioned astir 700 kilometres (435 miles) from the Iranian seashore arsenic of Sunday, outer images showed.
Its determination puts astatine slightest a twelve U.S. F35s and F18 combatant jets wrong striking distance. A 2nd bearer was dispatched implicit the weekend.
"A warship is surely a unsafe weapon, but adjacent much unsafe is the limb susceptible of sinking it," Supreme person Khamenei said successful a code Tuesday (February 17, 2026).
Iran has insisted the talks beryllium constricted to the atomic issue, though Washington has antecedently pushed for different topics to beryllium discussed, including Tehran's ballistic missiles programme and enactment for equipped groups successful the region.
War games
Iran has besides sought to show its subject might, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps opening a bid of warfare games Monday successful the Strait of Hormuz to hole for "potential information and subject threats", authorities tv said.
Iranian politicians person repeatedly threatened to artifact the strait, a strategical way for lipid and gas.
A erstwhile effort astatine diplomacy collapsed past twelvemonth erstwhile Israel launched astonishment strikes connected Iran successful June, opening a 12-day warfare that Washington concisely joined to weaponry Iranian atomic sites.
The West fears Iran's atomic programme is aimed astatine making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated successful an interrogation published Tuesday (February 17, 2026) that Tehran was "absolutely not seeking atomic weapons". "If anyone wants to verify this, we are unfastened to specified verification to instrumentality place," helium said.
Ali Fathollah-Nejad, manager of the Berlin-based Centre for Middle East and Global Order, said Iran was faced with an "existential dilemma". "Giving successful to U.S. demands could bring sanctions alleviation that it would desperately request to stabilise the authorities and money its repressive apparatus," helium told AFP.
"However, immoderate important concessions connected the nuclear, ballistic rocket and determination proxies issues would sensitively undermine its ideological and subject standing."
