Iran And United States Hold Another Indirect Nuclear Talks In Geneva On February 26

Iran and the United States are set to hold another round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva, with multiple outlets tying the diplomatic push to Iran’s simultaneous posture in the Strait of Hormuz.

“New talks organized in Geneva between Iran and the United States A third round of indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran is scheduled for Thursday in Geneva”

France 24

France 24 says a third session of indirect talks is scheduled for Thursday, February 26, in Switzerland, and frames it as an effort to move out of the “neither war nor peace” ambiguity, quoting Marco Rubio that Tehran’s refusal to talk about its ballistic missile program is “a big problem.”

France 24

RFI reports that Iran, while brandishing its “right to defend itself,” said on Sunday, February 22 there were “good chances” of reaching an agreement, with possible new talks on Thursday, February 26 in Geneva.

NourNews likewise places indirect Iran–US nuclear talks in Geneva on “Tuesday, 28 Bahman 1404,” with Oman’s mediation and “the good offices of Oman,” and says the new round was held on “Friday, 17 Bahman 1404, in Muscat.”

Fararu describes Geneva as hosting negotiations on Iran’s nuclear dossier and the Russia–Ukraine conflict, while also noting that Iran strengthened deterrence through a strategic exercise in the Strait of Hormuz.

In Fararu’s account, the Hormuz Strait exercise involved an IRGC Navy drill titled “Smart Control of the Hormuz Strait,” with missile, naval and air units and “advanced combat systems,” and it says the first phase began on Boumousi Island at the southernmost point of Iran’s territory.

Across the coverage, the Hormuz naming itself becomes a diplomatic signal: the خبرپو item quotes Araqchi saying, “Using any name other than Hormuz would undoubtedly be a very bad mistake.”

The negotiations are being shaped by a dispute over whether Iran will discuss ballistic missile issues, and multiple sources present sharply different positions from Washington and Tehran.

France 24 reports that Rubio said Tehran’s refusal to talk about its ballistic missile program is “a big problem,” and it adds that Washington wants to address both the ballistic missile program and nuclear issues, while Iran wants to limit talks to the nuclear aspect and demands lifting sanctions that “strangulate its economy.”

Le Dauphiné Libéré

خبرآنلاین quotes a Swiss diplomat, Sahil V. Shah, writing on X that “Iran is not going to negotiate its ballistic missile program or give it up,” and it says he argued Iran is “one of the eleven countries in the region that possess such systems.”

The same خبرآنلاین item includes Rubio’s remarks that for negotiations to yield meaningful results, talks should cover “Iran’s ballistic missile range,” the nuclear program, “how the government treats its own people,” and what he described as support for “terrorist organizations across the region,” while also quoting Rubio: “We prefer to meet and talk, and we are trying to determine whether this is possible or not.”

On the Iranian side, خبرآنلاین quotes Seyed Abbas Araghchi saying, “Iran is ready to re-enter nuclear negotiations if they are fair and just,” and it includes his statement that “Iran has never sought nuclear weapons, and these weapons have no place in our security calculations.”

RFI adds that Araghchi told CBS that Iran has “the right to defend itself,” and it quotes him saying, “Our missiles cannot reach American soil. We must therefore clearly find another solution [...] and strike the American base in the region,” without specifying which base.

In parallel, TF1 Info reports that Donald Trump said the blocus of the Strait of Hormuz “a fonctionné à 100%” and that he “anéanti” the Iranian army, while a written message relayed by state television has Mojtaba Khamenei estimating the United States suffered a “défaite honteuse.”

Several outlets describe the mechanics of the talks, emphasizing Oman’s mediation and Switzerland’s role in hosting and offering “good offices.”

Le Dauphiné Libéré says discussions were launched on February 6 between the two countries, the first since the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites carried out last June by the United States, and it reports that Switzerland announced the resumption of talks in Geneva next week while Washington pressed Tehran to conclude an agreement aimed in particular at limiting its nuclear program.

It quotes a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry saying that the Sultanate of Oman would host discussions between the United States and Iran in Geneva next week, and that Switzerland welcomed and supported these talks, “without specifying a precise day.”

The same Le Dauphiné Libéré item says that in Oman on February 6, talks took place between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the U.S. president's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and that these talks occurred indirectly under Oman mediation.

France 24 similarly says Iran and the United States resumed dialogue in early February in Oman, a mediator country, then met for the first time in Switzerland on February 17, and it adds that the U.S. is represented by envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

NourNews provides a calendar-style account, listing a schedule in which Araqchi will meet the Swiss Foreign Minister, his Omani counterpart, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and several international officials based in Switzerland, and it says a speech at the United Nations disarmament conference in Geneva is listed as another program.

Mehr News Agency reports that Araghchi and his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis held a phone call on Thursday to discuss bilateral relations and “the latest developments in the region,” including “the US-Israeli aggression against Iran,” and that “The details of the call will be announced subsequently.”

While negotiations are underway, RFI and Fararu describe a parallel escalation of military posture and a U.S. strategy of pressure, framing the risk that diplomacy could fail.

RFI says President Donald Trump threatens to intervene militarily and has deployed “two aircraft carriers and more than a dozen warships,” and it quotes The Wall Street Journal that this is “the 'largest air power' assembled in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.”

RFI

RFI also cites Robert Pape, security affairs expert at the University of Chicago, saying on X that this “represents 40 to 50% of the deployable US air power worldwide,” and it adds that “Never have the United States deployed so many forces against a potential enemy without launching attacks,” according to the professor.

Fararu describes Iran’s deterrence messaging as simultaneous with nuclear diplomacy, saying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded to American military threats by emphasizing Iran’s deterrent capabilities and asserting that “the danger is not the American aircraft carrier but the weapon capable of sinking it.”

Fararu also says the exercise included scenarios simulating electronic warfare and communications disruptions, and it reports that units “simultaneously fired cruise missiles from land-based and sea platforms at predefined targets” and that official statements said the missiles were equipped with “anti-jamming systems and AI-guided technologies.”

In Fararu’s narrative, Tehran stresses that the exercises aim to elevate defensive readiness, strengthen deterrence, and guarantee security of “one of the world's most vital energy arteries,” while strategic analysts believe Washington’s positions reflect “a targeted strategy within the maximum pressure policy.”

خبرآنلاین adds that Axios reported the United States told Iran on Wednesday it would not agree to Tehran’s request to change the venue and format of Friday’s talks, and it includes Rubio’s insistence that talks should cover missile range and other issues.