No deal reached as U.S.-Iran talks conclude, but mediator says progress made

Amna Nawaz:

In Geneva today, the U.S. and Iran concluded a third round of indirect and at times direct negotiations. Iranian officials announced that technical talks will begin on Monday with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

That suggests some possible progress, as the United States deploys the largest military presence to the Middle East in more than 20 years.

Stephanie Sy begins our coverage.

Stephanie Sy:

In Geneva today, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held crucial negotiations with Iran, at first indirect through Oman's foreign minister and then direct.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled positive momentum.

Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister:

We made a very good progress. We were able to define the main elements of a possible deal, and we discussed about those elements. Of course, there are still differences, but in most of the cases we have at least a general understanding how to resolve those questions.

Stephanie Sy:

That despite an official brief on the talks telling "PBS News Hour" that the U.S. demanded Iran destroy its three main nuclear enrichment sites, Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, the same sites struck by American bombers last summer.

And the officials said the U.S. team demanded Iran get rid of its highly enriched uranium, which Iran says was buried during the strike on the Fordow enrichment plant. Iran announced that technical talks would start on Monday in Vienna and a fourth round of political negotiations would be scheduled in a week.

President Donald Trump:

They want to start all over again and at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions.

Stephanie Sy:

This week, in his State of the Union address, President Trump vowed that he would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.

President Donald Trump:

My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain. I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can't let that happen.

Stephanie Sy:

And President Trump went further than public intelligence estimates and accused Iran of pursuing intercontinental ballistic missiles.

President Donald Trump:

They have already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.

Stephanie Sy:

Tehran has repeatedly denied ever seeking nuclear weapons and has long claimed its uranium enrichment activities are for civilian purposes.

Just before the talks, Araghchi reiterated that Iran's right to nuclear enrichment is nonnegotiable and vowed retaliation if the U.S. attacks.

Abbas Araghchi:

We are ready to remove concerns, but we are not ready to give up our rights for peaceful use of nuclear technology. If, God forbid, the U.S. decides to attack us, then their bases in the region would be a legitimate target.

Stephanie Sy:

Wartime preparations are ramping up. Today, the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, the Gerald Ford, left the Greek island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean, adding to the Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying ships already in the Arabian Sea.

Fighter jets and support aircraft, as well as air defense, are deployed across the region. And for the first time outside of a training mission, the U.S. has deployed F-22 fighter jets to Israel. Israel has made it clear it would respond to any Iranian attack, even if it follows a U.S. strike with a larger war than last summer.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter):

I passed on and clarified to the regime of the ayatollahs that, if they make perhaps the gravest mistake in their history and attack the state of Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine.

Stephanie Sy:

The ongoing talks could be a last chance for diplomacy before a potential war, a moment that could define the future of peace in the Middle East.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.