Iran announces a "general understanding" on the main points of negotiation with the US

BarcelonaIran has announced that it has reached a "general understanding" on the main points of negotiation with the United States during Tuesday's meeting in Geneva. "We have reached a general agreement on a series of guiding principles, on which we will base the drafting of a possible agreement text," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters. However, he clarified that this does not mean a final agreement should be reached soon, since "when you get to the drafting of the text, the work becomes more difficult." Araghchi met in Geneva with Donald Trump's special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at the Omani embassy, ​​with the Omani foreign minister acting as intermediary. After weeks of threats from Trump, Tehran and Washington resumed negotiations on the development of Iran's nuclear capabilities on February 6, in what was their first meeting since the 12-day war last June. The Iranian minister stated that this second meeting was "more serious" than the first and that "positive progress" had been made, although details have not yet been released.

Before the meeting began, Iran announced the temporary closure of parts of the Strait of Hormuz for military exercises. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that parts of the strait would be closed for several hours due to "security precautions" while the Revolutionary Guard conducted military exercises in the area.

"Parts of the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed for several hours today to comply with safety and navigation principles," the agency stated, though it did not specify the duration of the closure or which areas were affected. Military maneuvers began this Monday, involving warships, helicopters, drones, and missiles, with the objective of evaluating the "rapid response" of the National Guard, the elite branch of the Iranian armed forces, to "conspiracies against the security" of the country, according to the official news agency. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the cards Iran has up its sleeve to threaten the United States in the event of an attack. It is the world's most important oil export route, through which approximately 20% of global oil and 20% of liquefied natural gas pass. Restrictions on passage through this area would cause major disruptions to the global hydrocarbon trade.

Regime change

Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in the Geneva talks and said he believed Tehran wanted to reach an agreement. "I don't think they want the consequences of not reaching an agreement," the president told reporters aboard Air Force One. "We could have reached an agreement instead of sending in the B-2 bombers to destroy their nuclear capabilities. And we had to send in the B-2 bombers," he added, making a veiled threat of a possible new military strike.

Over the weekend, Trump said that "the best thing that could happen" in Iran would be regime change and the end of the Islamic Republic established in 1979. On Tuesday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded, asserting that this would not happen. "The US president says his army is the strongest in the world, but even the strongest army in the world can sometimes be hit so hard that it cannot get back up," Khamenei said, according to state media.