- Indirect discussions between Washington and Tehran to avoid crisis
- The White House is reviewing the regional deployment of US troops, planned by mid-March.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Netanyahu on February 28 regarding Iran.
Iran is expected to submit a formal proposal outlining steps to ease tensions with the United States, following indirect negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior US official said. Reuters Wednesday.
The talks, attended by U.S. envoys and Iran’s top diplomat, were aimed at preventing the standoff from escalating further.
Top U.S. national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were briefed that all U.S. military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said.
Tuesday’s indirect talks in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at preventing a growing crisis between the two countries.
The United States wants Iran to abandon its nuclear program, and Iran has categorically refused and denied wanting to develop an atomic weapon.
Iran has agreed to make a written proposal on how to address US concerns at the Geneva talks, the senior US official said.
“We are currently expecting this 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 willing to discuss only scaling back its nuclear program, in exchange for sanctions relief, and will not completely abandon uranium enrichment or discuss its missile program.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that some progress has been made in Geneva, but that “we are still very far apart on some issues.”
Trump has ordered a major military buildup in the region as he plans to use force with a second group of aircraft carriers on the way.
“The president ordered the continued buildup of forces in the region, including the arrival of the second aircraft carrier group. Full forces are expected to be in place by mid-March,” the senior US official said.
