Nuclear talks between Iran and the US in Geneva have reached an agreement on "general guiding principles" for a deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
The second round of negotiations concluded on Tuesday amid an exchange of war threats, including a temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz for Iranian military drills. Mr Araghchi said the two sides would begin drafting texts of a possible nuclear deal.
"The atmosphere was more constructive in this round of negotiations," he added. "Both sides still have viewpoints that will take time to converge, but now we have a set of guiding principles according to which we are moving forward."
Mr Araghchi said there would be further talks, but a date and time were not yet determined. "It was decided that both sides will work on the text of a possible agreement and an exchange will take place," he said.
The talks were mediated by Oman, which said they made "good progress" but that "much work" was yet to be done. "Together we made serious efforts to define a number of guiding principles for a final deal," Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi said.
Iran pledged to negotiate "with an open mind" at the talks to avoid a new war in the Middle East. Mr Araghchi is prepared to stay in Geneva "for days or even weeks" to finalise an agreement, said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. "We hope to see the same level of seriousness and goodwill from the American delegation," he added.
Iran wants to reach "a just and equitable deal", Mr Araghchi said after arriving in Switzerland. "What is not on the table: submission before threats,” he added.
The agenda for this round of talks, similar to previous stages, was "limited exclusively to nuclear-related issues and the removal of unlawful US sanctions", Iranian media reported. Tehran has stressed its position on maintaining uranium enrichment, the Mehr news agency reported.
US President Donald Trump said before the talks began that he would be involved “indirectly” in the negotiations, which were held at the Omani embassy. “I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be very important,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. “I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal.”
His remarks came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would not be “easy” to reach a deal with Iran. But he added that the US would try to achieve one, because it prefers diplomacy over military action.
The US delegation was led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr Baghaei said Iran had "come with a full team and nuclear and technical experts are also present".
The talks are focused on a new nuclear arrangement. The US wants Iran to end any uranium enrichment, while Tehran – despite damage to key nuclear sites in US strikes and the war with Israel last year – insists it wants to preserve enrichment capability.
The delegations had "good discussions" on the technical aspects of the deal, Mr Araghchi said.
There had been concerns that US demands for Iran to also discuss its support for proxy forces in the region and its ballistic missile programme could harm efforts to achieve a deal. Tehran had offered to focus on economic matters, including the lifting of US sanctions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has acknowledged that the Trump administration engineered Iran's recent financial crisis, which led to mass protests across the country. Many officials in the region doubt Washington will be satisfied with a nuclear deal alone, pointing to what they see as an opportunity to further weaken the Iranian regime.
Regime change would be the ideal outcome to the crisis in Iran, Mr Trump said last week. He said he wanted to settle the situation in Iran "once and for all" as he declared an increase in the US military presence in the region.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by saying Washington would not be able to overthrow his regime. “The US President has said that for 47 years, the United States hasn't been able to eliminate the Islamic Republic. That is a good confession,” said Mr Khamenei. “I say: 'You, too, will not be able to do this.'”
His comments came as Iran announced that parts of the Strait of Hormuz were to be closed for a few hours on Tuesday due to "security precautions" as the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps conducts military drills in the waterway.
The latest talks follow a round of negotiations mediated by Oman and held in Muscat this month. Both Tehran and Washington described those talks as "positive", despite simmering tensions.
