US - Iran talks resume in Geneva with Trump indirectly involved and Tehran sending full team

thenationalnews.com · Feb 17, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Listen to articleAn anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in Tehran. Iran and the US have exchanged threats as regional tensions rise. EPAAn anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in Tehran. Iran and the US have exchanged threats as regional tensions rise. EPAMarco Rubio says reaching a deal will not be easy, but Washington prefers diplomacy over warThe NationalFebruary 17, 2026 Talks between the US and Iran resume in Geneva, with Donald Trump involved “indirectly” amid heightened military posturing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said reaching a deal will be difficult, though Washington still prefers diplomacy over war. Tehran has deployed a “full team”, including nuclear and technical experts, signalling a serious approach to the negotiations. The US seeks an end to uranium enrichment, while Iran insists on preserving enrichment despite losses from US strikes and the war with Israel. “‘I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal,’ the US President said,” said the US President. US President Donald Trump says he will be involved “indirectly” in talks between Iran and Washington when the two sides resume negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday.The meeting is overshadowed by an exchange of threats, including last-minute Iranian military drills and heavy American naval deployments near Iran.“I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be ⁠very important,” Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force ​One. “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.Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, announced that a different delegation would be in Geneva. “We have come with a full team and nuclear and technical experts are also present,” he said.The talks are focused on a new nuclear arrangement. The US wants Iran to end any uranium enrichment, while Tehran – despite losing key nuclear sites to US strikes and the war with Israel last year – insists it wants to preserve enrichment capability.Iran conducts military drills in Strait of Hormuz00:41But the talks could be complicated by US demands that a weakened Iran also discussed its support for proxy forces in the region and its ballistic missile programme. Tehran has said it will not include those issues in the negotiations and has instead offered to focus on economic matters.Many officials in the region doubt the US will be satisfied with a nuclear deal alone, pointing to what they see as a window to further weaken the Iranian regime after last June’s war with Israel, which also dealt a major blow to Hezbollah, Iran’s main proxy, as well as recent nationwide protests and crippling economic sanctions.The talks follow a Muscat meeting earlier this month. The US has since sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East and Iran has carried out military drills.Updated: February 17, 2026, 6:29 AMMost popular today12345678910