US, Iran Engage in Third Round of Nuclear Talks

Jonathan Tirone, Bloomberg News Nuclear Correspondent, breaks down the latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks.

Iran said nuclear talks with the US on Thursday progressed “very intensely and very seriously,” after they paused negotiations until early evening in Switzerland.

With days to go until President Donald Trump’s deadline for a deal, the two countries started their third round of Omani-mediated discussions in Geneva. Trump has threatened to strike Tehran unless its leaders agree to an accord, sparking fears of a new Middle East war embroiling Gulf Arab oil producers and Israel.

“We hope that going forward the discussion will focus on lifting sanctions and the nuclear issue,” Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Iranian state TV on the sidelines of the meeting. Baghaei added that diplomats will reconvene for the talks between 5:30 and 6 p.m. local time.

The US team is led by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is heading the talks for Iran.

Iranian state media said parts of the talks were conducted directly, suggesting the lead delegates met instead of dealing only via Omani officials. Iran stated it won’t allow any of its highly enriched uranium to be moved out the country, Press TV said, citing Baghaei.

US officials are yet to comment publicly, though have previously signaled Iran would have to send such stocks of uranium to another country or dilute them.

The US and Iran have been locked in a tense standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and have traded threats as Trump has ordered a substantial military build-up in the Middle East, sending two carrier strike groups to the region as a warning to Iran. Trump had given the Islamic Republic a deadline of March 1-6 to reach a deal. The US and Iran have been locked in a tense standoff over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and have traded threats as Trump ordered a substantial military build-up in the Middle East, sending two carrier strike groups to the region as a warning to Iran. Trump had given the Islamic Republic a deadline of March 1-6 to reach a deal.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who’s mediating the talks, said “creative and positive ideas” had been exchanged earlier Thursday and there is “hope to make more progress.”

Global markets are watching closely, with any prolonged conflict in the energy-rich Persian Gulf likely to elevate oil prices and stoke inflation. Benchmark Brent was steady on Thursday at around $71 a barrel as of 3:15 p.m. in London. But it’s up more than 16% this year, largely because of the US-Iran standoff.

Energy traders are focused on signs of disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast that connects key oil producers in the region to world markets. Iran has threatened to retaliate forcefully against any US attack.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have both accelerated exports of crude in recent weeks as tensions have soared. The US’s vast military build-up in the region, the biggest since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is set get a boost in coming days when a second aircraft carrier arrives that could join in any potential attack or help defend against Iranian counter-strikes. A member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, Avi Dichter, on Thursday confirmed media reports that the US had stationed F-22 fighter jets as well as refueling planes in Israel. It’s rare for Israel to host other countries’ aircraft.

Deal Demands

As the talks in Geneva continued, Iranian state media reported a large fire near the country’s biggest oil refinery in the southern port city of Abadan. Video footage posted by the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency showed a large blaze engulfing part of an industrial park in the wider complex that houses the refinery.

There have been no reports so far of casualties or any details about the cause of the fire and its proximity to the refinery, which is on the Persian Gulf and has a capacity of around 500,000 barrels a day.

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