- Washington-Tehran indirect discussions aimed at averting crisis
- The White House is reviewing the regional deployment of US troops, set for mid-March.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Netanyahu on February 28 over Iran.
Iran is expected to present a formal proposal outlining steps to ease tensions with the United States after indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior US official said. Reuters on Wednesday.
The discussions, involving US envoys and Iran’s top diplomat, were aimed at preventing the conflict from escalating further.
Top US national security advisers met in the White House situation room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were told that all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said.
Tuesday’s indirect discussions in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at fueling a growing crisis between the two countries.
The United States wants Iran to give up its nuclear program, and Iran has vehemently denied and denied that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran agreed to submit a written proposal on how to address U.S. concerns during the Geneva talks, the senior U.S. official said.
“We are currently awaiting that from the Iranians,” the official said.
The United States has sought to broaden the scope of negotiations to non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile stockpile. Iran says it is only willing to discuss curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions, and that it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile program.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that some progress was made in Geneva, but that “we are still very divided on some issues.”
Trump has ordered a major military buildup in the region as he considers the use of force with another aircraft carrier group en route.
“The president has ordered the continued build-up in the region, including the arrival of the second carrier group. Full strength should be in place by mid-March,” the senior US official said.
