Ammon News - Iran and the U.S. hold the latest round of talks in Geneva on Thursday aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute and averting new U.S. strikes on Iran following a large-scale military buildup.

The two countries renewed negotiations this month, hoping to tackle a decades-long stand-off over Tehran's nuclear program, which Washington, other Western states and Israel believe is aimed at building nuclear arms. Tehran denies this.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the indirect talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a U.S. official told Reuters. The talks follow discussions in Geneva last week and will be mediated by Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.

U.S. President Donald Trump briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran in his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, saying his preference was to solve the problem through diplomacy, but that he would not allow Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.

PRESSURE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE IRAN
On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance underscored Trump's argument.

"Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. That would be the ultimate military objective, if that's the route that (Trump) chose," Vance said in an interview on Fox News.

The U.S. has been assembling a massive military force in the Middle East, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict. In June last year the U.S. joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites. Iran has threatened to retaliate fiercely if attacked again.

Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10-15 days, warning that "really bad things" would otherwise happen.

Araqchi on Tuesday said his country aims to achieve a fair, swift deal, but reiterated that it would not forgo its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Washington views nuclear enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons.

"A deal is within reach, but only if diplomacy is given priority," Araqchi said in a statement on X.

Reuters