U.S. and Iran wrap up ‘most intense’ nuclear talks with no deal — more

The latest round of U.S.-Iran talks did not lead to a breakthrough, with both sides agreeing to extend negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said, describing the discussions as the “most intense so far.”

“Further progress has been made in our diplomatic engagement with the United States,” said Araghchi, adding that both sides planned to engage in a more “detailed” manner on critical issues including termination of U.S. sanctions on Iran and “nuclear-related steps.”

The two sides made “significant progress” in the high-stakes talks in Geneva, Switzerland, and agreed to meet next week to discuss technical details in Vienna, according to Oman’s foreign minister Badr Albusaidi, the mediator of the talks.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran wants to make a “deal” more than the U.S. while Tehran’s refusal to commit to not developing nuclear weapons remains a key sticking point holding up the agreement.

In his State of the Union address earlier this week, Trump said that “They [Iran] want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: We will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Tensions continued to run high as the U.S. has amassed a large military force in the Middle East with Trump last week warning that “bad things” would happen if Iran does not agree to a deal over the future of its nuclear program.

The third round of talks this week were led by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, while Araghchi headed the Iranian delegation.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Friday that the U.S. team had tough demands for the Iranians, including that they destroy the three main nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, and deliver all of its remaining enriched uranium to the U.S. Iranian officials have objected to these demands.

The team also requested any nuclear deal must last forever and not have so-called sunset clauses, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The Trump administration has also demanded Tehran to stop supporting regional armed groups and cease its repression of domestic protestors.

Analysts have warned of risks of a military clash in the region should the two sides fail to reach any meaningful breakthrough, which could unleash…