DOHA, QATAR - 2026/02/08: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi delivers a speech during the 17th Al Jazeera Forum. On the second day of the 17th Al Jazeera Forum on February 8, 2026, discussions were highlighted by a public address from Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, who rejected calls for the group's disarmament and proposed a long-term truce with international peacekeepers. The sessions also featured UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese via video link, where she criticized the failures of international law in Gaza. (Photo by Yousef Masoud/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) © 2026 SOPA Images

Iran’s top diplomat to attend ‘indirect’ talks with US in Geneva, state-run IRNA news agency says

by · CityNews

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat was traveling from Tehran on Sunday to Geneva where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the U.S. will take place, Iranian state media reported.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week. Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva, the IRNA state-run news agency reported on its Telegram channel.

Similar talks last year broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day war on Iran, that included the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear sites.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to agree to constrain its nuclear program. Iran has said it would respond with an attack of its own. Trump has also threatened Iran over its deadly crackdown on recent nationwide protests.

Gulf Arab countries have warned that any attack could spiral into another regional conflict.

The Trump administration has maintained that Iran can have no uranium enrichment under any detail, which Tehran says it will not agree to.

Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but officials however have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Before the war in June, Iran has been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, just a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

Araghchi is also expected to meet with his Swiss and Omani counterparts, as well as the director general of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Associated Press