‘This Does Not Mean We Will Reach an Agreement Soon:’ U.S. Negotiations With Iran in Geneva End Inconclusively

Latest Developments

Geneva Talks End: A further round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran ended in Geneva on February 17 with the Iranian side claiming that agreement had been reached on “guiding principles” for future negotiations. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned that “this does not mean we will reach an agreement soon, but the path has begun. When it comes to drafting the text, the work becomes difficult.” Iran has refused to include its support for terrorist proxies and its ballistic missile capability alongside its nuclear program as a subject for negotiations, while Araghchi’s deputy, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, stated in an interview the previous weekend that the Tehran regime would require the United States to lift sanctions to secure a nuclear deal.
IRGC Carries Out Naval Drill in Strait of Hormuz: As U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Geneva for the talks, Iran carried out naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, firing live missiles. Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, signaled Iran’s preparedness to close the strategic waterway, through which 20 percent of the world’s oil supply travels. If Iran’s leadership orders its closure, its military stands “ready to carry out such an operation in the shortest possible time,” Tangsiri emphasized.
Iran Rebuilding Nuclear Weapons Facility: Research by the Institute for
Science and International Security released as the negotiations in Geneva
were underway asserted that Iran is close to finishing work rebuilding a key nuclear weapons research site destroyed by Israeli strikes in October 2024. “Iran has been busy burying the new Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex with soil,” the institute stated. It further warned that “the facility may soon become a fully unrecognizable bunker, providing significant protection from aerial strikes.” Iran previously conducted experiments at Taleghan 2 that could enable it to build a functional nuclear device.

FDD Expert Response

“Iran’s ongoing attempt to rebuild the Taleghan 2 facility demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s true intentions. A deal with the regime now — after President Trump promised Iranian protesters that help is on the way and in the wake of last June’s extensive and damaging strikes — would spark ill will toward the United States that could last for several generations, signaling that Washington’s word cannot be relied upon.” — Andrea Stricker, Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director and Research Fellow

“There is little indication that these talks have made significant progress. The immediate demands of Iran made by the United States are light-years apart from Tehran’s insistence on traditional, incremental negotiations. This results in the progressive demoralization, due to further arrests and killings while negotiations are ongoing, of the very Iranian citizens who stand ready to overthrow the regime should the United States launch military action.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow

“The regime in Tehran has never been more fragile: domestically fractured, regionally isolated, and economically crippled. It currently uses the veneer of negotiation as a survival mechanism to outlast the storm. These diplomatic efforts are only meaningful if they serve to exhaust all alternatives before a military intervention topples the regime.” — Saeed Ghasseminejad, Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor