GENEVA: Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that the United States must drop its &ldquo;excessive demands&rdquo; if the two sides are to reach a deal, following their latest round of talks in Geneva. In a phone call with Egypt&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said that &ldquo;success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,&rdquo; according to Iranian state media. Araghchi did not specify which demands he considered excessive. However, Washington has consistently pointed to Iran&rsquo;s ballistic missile program and its uranium enrichment capability as a red line. US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Tehran had &ldquo;already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they&#39;re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.&rdquo; Also on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed Iran is &ldquo;not enriching right now, but they&#39;re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can,&rdquo; adding that Tehran &ldquo;refuses&rdquo; to discuss its ballistic missile program and that &ldquo;that&#39;s a big problem.&rdquo; Iran has repeatedly defended its missile program as a core element of its defensive capabilities and has ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment. Iranian officials maintain that the country&rsquo;s nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and complies with international law.&nbsp; Iran and the United States, longtime adversaries, held their third round of Omani-mediated nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva. The negotiations aim to prevent further military escalation as Washington increases its military presence in the region. Both Iran and Oman reported progress after the talks. Technical-level discussions are scheduled for Monday in Vienna, ahead of a fourth round of high-level negotiations expected next week.

In this handout photo released by the Iran's Foreign Ministry on February 26, 2026, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (L) speaks with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi during their meeting in Geneva.

Middle East

In a phone call with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi said that “success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands,” according to Iranian state media.

Iran urges US to drop 'excessive demands' to reach deal 

GENEVA:&nbsp;Iran&#39;s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Geneva ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States, Iranian state television said Monday, as Washington keeps up pressure on the Islamic republic. According to Tehran, &quot;indirect&quot;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-says-ready-for-nuclear-compromise-if-us-lifts-sanctions" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Iran</a>&ndash;US nuclear talks mediated by Oman will be held on Tuesday. Tehran and Washington restarted negotiations this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/iran-fm-heads-to-geneva-for-second-round-of-nuclear-talks-with-us" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Iran</a>&nbsp;last June. &quot;The foreign minister has arrived in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-says-iran-government-change-best-thing-that-could-happen" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Geneva</a>&nbsp;at the head of a diplomatic and expert delegation to take part in the second round of nuclear negotiation,&quot; Iran&#39;s state-run IRIB wrote on its Telegram channel. &lsquo;Deep technical discussion&rsquo;The top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, later wrote on X that he would meet in Geneva with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, &quot;for deep technical discussion&quot;.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2023273878340989182&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=c529a19e8829c3da039522b882158fce05ff872f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 369px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>He is also set to hold talks with his Swiss and Omani counterparts as well as other international officials, Iran&#39;s foreign ministry said. &quot;I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats,&quot; Araghchi added on X. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Anti-govt protests</h2>Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday. The latest talks follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran, first over Iran&#39;s crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country&#39;s nuclear program. The West fears the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies. On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the &quot;best thing that could happen&quot;, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure. Iran&#39;s deputy foreign minister told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions that have crippled the Islamic republic&#39;s economy. &quot;If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,&quot; said Majid Takht-Ravanchi. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any deal must involve the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as well as Tehran&#39;s ability to enrich more. &quot;There should be no enrichment capability... dismantle the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,&quot; he said during a speech in Jerusalem. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Viable&#39; deal&nbsp;</h2>On Feb. 6, Araghchi led the Iranian delegation in indirect talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Muscat. Switzerland has played a key role in Tehran-Washington diplomacy, representing US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution. Iranian deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said Tehran was seeking a deal with the United States that would generate economic benefits for both countries, particularly in sectors such as aviation, mining and oil and gas, the Fars news agency reported. &quot;For the agreement to be viable, it is essential that the United States also be able to benefit from it in areas with strong and rapid economic return potential,&quot; he was quoted as saying.

Tehran and Washington restarted negotiations this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June.

Articles tagged with "Geneva"

Iran urges US to drop 'excessive demands' to reach deal

Iranian FM Araghchi in Geneva for second round of US talks