Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, in Geneva on Monday, ahead of a second round of indirect nuclear talks there with the United States on Tuesday.
Araghchi said he would also meet with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, whose country is mediating the talks and hosted their first round in Muscat on February 6.
The negotiations commenced amid a US naval buildup that sought to pressure Iran into reining in its nuclear program. On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy held a drill in the Hormuz Strait to test the readiness of operational forces in the face of “possible security and military threats,” semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
Writing on X, Araghchi said he was in Geneva “with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal” in the renewed indirect talks with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“What is not on the table: submission before threats,” added Araghchi.
The meeting with Grossi was set to include “deep technical discussions” accompanied by nuclear experts, said Araghchi.
The IAEA has been calling on Iran for months to say what happened to its stockpile of 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of highly enriched uranium following US strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, which put an end to previous US-Iran talks.
Araghchi’s direct meeting with Grossi is a significant step after Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA following the June war. The two also met briefly on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent could allow the country to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, Grossi previously told The Associated Press. He added that it doesn’t mean that Iran has such a weapon.
On Friday, Grossi told the Munich Security Conference that IAEA inspectors had returned to Iran since the war but have been unable to visit any of the facilities targeted by the US. He also said reaching a deal with Iran on inspection of its processing facilities was possible but “terribly difficult.”
While Iran, whose leaders are sworn to destroy Israel, denies seeking nuclear arms, it has enriched uranium to levels with no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.
Iranian deputy FM: ‘The ball is in America’s court’
The second round of US-Iran talks comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed to Washington last week to urge Trump to ensure that any deal would curtail Iran’s ballistic missile program and end its funding for proxy terror groups in the Middle East.
According to a CBS report Sunday, US-Israel discussions on possibly striking Iran’s missile facilities are ongoing, and Trump told Netanyahu in December that the US would back an Israeli strike on Iran’s ballistic missile program should talks fail.
Iran, for its part, has agreed to discuss only its nuclear program in the indirect talks with the US. The Islamic Republic has also refused to stop enriching uranium outright, as demanded by the US.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled Sunday that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of US-led international sanctions.
“The ball is in America’s court. They have to prove they want to have a deal with us,” Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC. “If we see a sincerity on their part, I am sure that we will be on a road to have an agreement.”
“We are ready to discuss this and other issues related to our program, provided that they are also ready to talk about the sanctions,” he added.
Trump initially threatened to take military action over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month, but then shifted to a pressure campaign in recent weeks to try to get Tehran to make a deal over its nuclear program.
Trump said Friday the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was being sent from the Caribbean to the Mideast to join other military assets the US has built up in the region. He also said a change in power in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
Iran has threatened to attack Israel and US bases in the region in response to a US strike.