Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi meets with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Geneva, Switzerland, ahead of indirect US-Iran negotiations, on February 17, 2026.
Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs AF | via Reuters
Oman’s foreign minister announced on Sunday that the next round of talks between the United States and Iran will take place in Geneva on Thursday, shortly after the Iranian government’s top diplomat said he was scheduled to meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff at that time.
Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said on social media that he was happy to confirm the progress “as a positive boost to move further towards concluding the agreement.” Oman previously hosted indirect talks on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and facilitated the latest round in Geneva last week.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on CBS Sunday that there remained “a good chance” of a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue, adding that the nuclear issue was the only issue being discussed.
The Trump administration is seeking concessions from longtime adversaries and building the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades.
President Donald Trump warned on Friday that a limited attack against Iran was possible, but at the time Aragushi said Iran would prepare a draft deal in the coming days.
Araghchi told CBS that Iran is still working on the draft proposal. He added that Iran has the right to enrich uranium. He said Friday that U.S. partners are not requesting zero enrichment as part of the latest talks, something U.S. officials have not said publicly.
Both Iran and the United States have indicated they are prepared for war if talks over Iran’s nuclear program fail.
Minutes after Oman’s approval of the talks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on social media: “The recent negotiations resulted in an exchange of realistic proposals and encouraging signals. However, we continue to closely monitor US actions and are making all necessary preparations for all potential scenarios.”
The United States has insisted that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons or the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons, nor can it enrich uranium. Tehran has long maintained that any negotiations should focus solely on its nuclear program and that it has not enriched uranium since the United States and Israel attacked Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Although Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, the United States and others suspect that it may ultimately aim to develop weapons.
Negotiations have been stalled for years since President Trump decided in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Since then, Iran has refused to discuss broader demands from the United States and Israel to scale back its missile program and sever ties with the militant group.
New protests in Iran
The confirmation of new talks comes as new anti-government protests have begun in Iran, with university students in Tehran and other cities demonstrating near memorials to thousands of people killed in a nationwide crackdown nearly six weeks ago, witnesses said.
On Sunday, students staged protests at five universities in the capital Tehran and one university in Mashhad city, Iran’s state news agency said. Sporadic protests erupted at universities on Saturday, following 40 days of commemoration for those killed at anti-government rallies in January.
The Iranian government has not commented on the recent protests.
Many Iranians have held ceremonies over the past week to mark the traditional 40-day mourning period. Most of the protesters are believed to have been killed around January 8 and 9, according to activists tracking the situation.
Iranians across the country remain in shock, grief and fear after initial protests were crushed in the worst crackdown ever seen under the rule of 86-year-old supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed and tens of thousands arrested.
The crackdown has quelled large-scale protests, but smaller protests continue to occur, according to protesters and videos shared on social media.
During the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the shah and brought power to the Islamic Republic, 40 days of commemoration for slain protesters often turned into rallies and new deaths as security forces tried to quell them. They were marked 40 days later with new protests.
Social media posts on Saturday and Sunday allege that security forces sought to restrict people from participating in the nearly 40-day ceremony.
The US-based Human Rights Defenders News Agency said at least 7,015 people, including 214 government troops, have been killed in the protests and crackdown so far. The group has accurately counted the death toll during previous uprisings in Iran and relies on a network of local activists to confirm deaths.
The death toll continues to rise as the group collates information despite the loss of contact with people within the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian government released its only death toll from the previous protests on January 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy has historically downplayed or failed to report the death toll from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll because authorities have blocked internet access and international phone calls in Iran.
