Iran and the United States reached an understanding on Tuesday on the main “guiding principles” in talks aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear disputebut that does not mean a deal is imminent, said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Oil futures fell and the benchmark Brent crude contract plunged more than 1% after Araqchi’s comments, which helped ease fears of conflict in the region, where the United States has deployed a battle force to pressure Tehran to make concessions.
“Different ideas have been put forward, these ideas have been seriously discussed and finally we have been able to reach general agreement on some guiding principles,” Araqchi told Iranian media after talks concluded in Geneva.
BOTH PARTIES ARE CLEAR ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS
Indirect talks between US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, along with Araqchi, were mediated by Oman. The White House did not respond to emailed questions about the meeting.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi said in a post on “there is still a lot of work to do,” but that Iran and the United States were leaving with “clear next steps.”
Just as talks began on Tuesday, Iranian state media said Iran would temporarily close part of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, due to “security precautions” as Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard held military exercises there.
Tehran has in the past threatened to close the strait to commercial shipping if attacked, a move that would cut off a fifth of global oil flows and drive up crude oil prices.
Responding to Trump’s comments that “regime change” in Iran might be the best path, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, warned that any American attempt to overthrow his government would fail.
“The president of the United States says his military is the strongest in the world, but sometimes the strongest military in the world can take a hit so hard that it can’t get up,” he said, in comments published by Iranian media.
