‘Progress made, Iran to come back in two weeks with detailed proposals’: US official on nuclear talks

WASHINGTON: Iran will return in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address the gaps, a United States official said following high-stakes nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

The US official noted that progress was made on the nuclear deal. “Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss. The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions,” the official said.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law to President Donald Trump, held discussions with Iranian authorities in Geneva on Tuesday (local time).

Both nations indulged in posturing ahead of the talks, as President Donald Trump issued a stern warning regarding the “consequences of not making a deal” ahead of critical diplomatic negotiations scheduled to take place in Geneva. He asked Iran to be “reasonable” in the next round of talks over the nuclear deal, reminding Tehran of the June 2025 B-2 bomber attack.

However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also issued a sharp warning to Trump, asserting that even the most powerful military could face a devastating collapse.

The Americans constantly say that they’ve sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) February 17, 2026

In a series of provocative posts on X, Khamenei challenged the American President’s frequent assertions of military dominance, stating, “The US President keeps saying that they have the strongest military force in the world. The strongest military force in the world may at times be struck so hard that it cannot get up again”.

Addressing the increased American naval presence in the region, the Supreme Leader suggested that US hardware remains vulnerable to Iranian countermeasures.

“The Americans constantly say that they’ve sent a warship toward Iran. Of course, a warship is a dangerous piece of military hardware. However, more dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea,” Khamenei noted.

Iran and the United States held the previous rounds of nuclear talks in April 2025. The Iranian nuclear deal dates back to July 2015, when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and several world powers, including the United States, which capped Tehran’s enrichment level at 3.67 per cent and reduced its uranium stockpile to 300 kilograms. The deal collapsed in 2018 with Trump’s unilateral withdrawal of the US from the accord. (ANI)