Iran tests US 'seriousness' with new proposal in nuclear talks

Tehran (ANTARA) - Iran has put forward a proposal to the United States, described as a test of its “seriousness”, ahead of the third round of nuclear talks in Geneva, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency on Thursday (February 26).

The Iranian news agency reported that the draft proposal was submitted to the US side via Omani mediators ahead of the talks, which are scheduled to take place at the Omani Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland.

“Rejecting it would be the same as confirming the initial suspicion that the United States is not genuinely committed to diplomacy and that its diplomatic stance is merely a game,” IRNA said ahead of the crucial new round of talks.

However, the content of the proposal was not disclosed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Geneva on Wednesday evening, accompanied by his deputy, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, and a team of nuclear, legal and economic experts.

Araghchi then met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi to discuss the outline of the talks and the draft proposal.

Araghchi stressed that the success of the talks requires the “seriousness of the other side” as well as avoiding “contradictory behaviour and attitudes,” according to media reports.

The draft is based on the guiding principles agreed upon in the previous round.

Meanwhile, the US delegation, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, also met with the Omani Foreign Minister after arriving in Geneva on Thursday morning.

Ahead of his departure, Araghchi stated that Iran would continue the talks in order to reach a fair agreement as soon as possible.

He described the new round as a “historic opportunity to reach an unprecedented agreement.”

Following the last round on February 17, both sides assessed the talks as positive, having agreed on guiding principles.

The indirect talks are taking place amid a large-scale US military deployment in the Persian Gulf and military exercises by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Source: Anadolu

Translator: Kuntum Khaira Riswan