Iran is pursuing a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that delivers economic benefits for both sides, an Iranian diplomat was reported as saying on Sunday (15 February), days before a second round of talks between Tehran and Washington.
Iran and the U.S. renewed negotiations earlier this month to tackle their decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme and avert a new military confrontation.
The U.S. said it has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region and is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, U.S. officials have told Reuters.
"For the sake of an agreement's durability, it is essential that the U.S. also benefits in areas with high and quick economic returns," Iranian Foreign Ministry Deputy Director for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran has threatened retaliation against any U.S. attack but the official struck a conciliatory note on Sunday.
"Common interests in the oil and gas fields, joint fields, mining investments, and even aircraft purchases are included in the negotiations," Ghanbari said, arguing that the 2015 nuclear pact with world powers had not secured U.S. economic interests.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a news conference in Bratislava on Sunday (15 February), said President Donald Trump had made it clear that he would prefer diplomacy and a negotiated settlement.
"No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran but we're going to try," Rubio said.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact that had eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, and re-applied tough economic sanctions on Tehran.
On Friday, a source told Reuters that a U.S. delegation including envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would meet Iranian officials in Geneva on Tuesday (17 February), a meeting later confirmed to Reuters by a senior Iranian official on Sunday.
"Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be travelling, I think they are travelling right now, to have important meetings and we'll see how that turns out," Rubio said, without providing further details.
Open to compromise
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signalled Iran's readiness to compromise on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, telling the BBC on Sunday that the ball was "in America's court to prove that they want to do a deal."
The senior official referred to the Iranian atomic chief's statement on Monday that the country could agree to dilute its most highly enriched uranium in exchange for the lifting of sanctions as an example of Iran's flexibility.
However, he reiterated that Tehran would not accept zero uranium enrichment, a key sticking point in past negotiations, with Washington viewing enrichment inside Iran as a potential pathway to nuclear weapons.
Iran denies seeking such weapons.
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Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes military action against Tehran.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
Nearly 130,000 people have been forced from their homes in Yemen in recent weeks as fighting intensifies along the country’s west coast, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Iranian judicial authorities have shut a French language centre in Tehran linked to the French Embassy, accusing it of “illegal activities”, including operating without a licence and facilitating the departure of talented Iranians.
Ankara and Washington are considering “creative ideas” to resolve U.S. sanctions imposed over Türkiye’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air-defence system, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
Uzbekistan is stepping up investment in Karakalpakstan, with billions of dollars in projects spanning renewable energy, AI, agriculture, mining, transport and healthcare as the region seeks to create jobs and develop higher-value industries.
The EU plans to mobilise up to €12 billion ($13.8 billion) in public and private investment to strengthen the Middle Corridor, a key trade route connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus with European markets.
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