People participate in a rally in support of Iranian protesters during World Day of Action on February 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
Caroline Breman | Reuters
Iran is pursuing a nuclear deal with the United States that would bring economic benefits to both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported to have said on Sunday, days ahead of a second round of talks between Iran and the United States.
Iran and the United States resumed talks earlier this month to address a decades-long standoff over Iran’s nuclear program and avoid a new military conflict. The United States has sent a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of continued military operations if talks are not successful, a U.S. official told Reuters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a news conference in Bratislava that President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants a diplomatic and negotiated solution, but has also made clear that it may not happen.
“No one has ever succeeded in getting a deal with Iran, but we’re going to try,” Rubio said.
Iran had threatened to attack U.S. military bases in the Middle East if attacked by U.S. forces, but on Sunday it took a conciliatory stance.
According to the semi-official Fars news agency, Hamid Gambari, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director-general for economic diplomacy, said, “In order to make the agreement permanent, it is essential that the United States also benefit from areas where economic benefits are high and can be achieved quickly.”
“The negotiations include common interests such as oil and gas fields, communal fields, mining investments and even the purchase of aircraft,” Gambari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers did not secure America’s economic interests.
In 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from a deal that eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbing its nuclear program and reimposed tough economic sanctions on Iran.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that a U.S. delegation, including special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, was scheduled to meet with Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday, after which a senior Iranian official confirmed the talks to Reuters on Sunday.
“Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are going to be traveling for important meetings. I think they’re still traveling, but we’ll see how that goes,” Rubio said, without providing further details.
Negotiations leading to the 2015 nuclear deal were multilateral, but current negotiations are limited to Iran and the United States, with Oman acting as a mediator.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi left Tehran for Geneva to participate in indirect nuclear talks with the United States and meet with the heads of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, the ministry announced.
willing to compromise
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht Ravanshi told the BBC on Sunday that the ball was “in the US court to prove that we want a deal”, suggesting Iran was willing to compromise on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The official cited Iran’s nuclear chief’s statement on Monday that Iran could agree to dilute its highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief as an example of Iran’s flexibility.
But he reiterated that Tehran would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a major deadlock point in past negotiations, as Washington views enrichment on Iranian soil as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons. Iran denies seeking such weapons.
In June, the United States joined Israel in a series of airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
The United States is also increasing economic pressure on Iran. During a White House meeting earlier this week, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed that the United States would work to reduce Iranian oil exports to China, Axios reported on Saturday.
China accounts for more than 80% of Iran’s oil exports, and a reduction in that trade would significantly reduce Iran’s oil revenues.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: Dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he told US President Donald Trump last week that any deal between the US and Iran must not only halt the enrichment process but also dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking at the annual meeting of major American Jewish organizations, Netanyahu also said Israel must “complete the mission” of destroying all tunnels in the Gaza Strip. He said Israel had already cleared 150 kilometers (93 miles) of an estimated 500 kilometers.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he was skeptical of the U.S.-Iran deal but that it must include enrichment leaving Iran. “The enrichment capacity does not exist. Rather than stopping the enrichment process, we would be dismantling the equipment and infrastructure that made enrichment possible in the first place,” he said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu also said he aims to end U.S. military aid to Israel within the next 10 years, after the current 10-year contract that receives $3.8 billion a year (mainly spent on U.S. equipment) ends in 2028.
With a thriving economy, “we can afford to phase out the financial part of the military aid that we receive, and I propose to bring it to zero in 10 years. Now, with the three years left in the current memorandum, it will go to zero in another seven years,” Netanyahu said.
“We want to move with the United States from aid to partnership,” he said.
