Iran

Iran and the United States wrapped up another round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran's nuclear program and potentially averting another war as the US gathers a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests. Iran also hopes to avert war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile program or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Oman's foreign minister, who is mediating the talks, said Thursday that they had ended but "will resume soon." Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X that there had been "significant progress in the negotiation" without elaborating. He said technical-level talks would take place next week in Vienna, home to the International Atomic Energy

On the flip side, a deal between the US and Iran coupled with the excess global supply/capacity could see limit the upside after a volatile phase, analysts said.

Trump said on February 19 that Iran must make a deal in 10 to 15 days, warning that "really bad things" would otherwise happen

Last year, shortly before American air strikes, Iran rushed to get its oil out of its ports by shipping large volumes onto tankers and sending as much as it could to Kharg Island

The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed another tranche of sanctions on people and companies accused of enabling Iran's ballistic missile program, drone production and illicit oil sales as the US presses Tehran to make a deal ahead of nuclear talks this week. The sanctions against 30 people, companies and ships come as President Donald Trump has massed the largest US buildup of warships and aircraft in the region in decades and has threatened to use military action in a bid to get Iran to constrain its nuclear program. The latest round of talks between US officials, including envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian negotiators via mediator Oman are scheduled for Thursday in Geneva. The new sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control include a list of ships accused of being part of Iran's "shadow fleet," which refers to rusting oil tankers that smuggle oil for countries facing stiff sanctions. Also targeted are drone manufacturing firms, including

Trump reiterated that he will prefer to resolve the conflict through a diplomatic deal but said Tehran had not committed to not developing nuclear weapons

As the United States assembles its greatest military firepower in decades in the Middle East, Iranians are warily awaiting the next round of talks with the US in Geneva this week - negotiations that many see as a last chance for their ruling theocracy to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump. Some say the situation feels hopeless. Battered by decades of sanctions, heightened by Trump's 2018 decision to withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, Iranians also just suffered through the bloodiest crackdown on dissent in the country's modern history. In January, security forces killed thousands of people and detained tens of thousands more. Still, Iran heads into the Thursday talks "with a determination to achieve a fair and equitable deal-in the shortest possible time," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted Tuesday on X. As Iranians await the outcome of the Geneva negotiations, many fear the outbreak of a war that could surpass Iran's bloody 1980s conflict with ...

Iran nears deal with China for CM-302 anti-ship missiles as US carriers mass near its coast, raising stakes in regional standoff

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday urged students from Jammu and Kashmir studying in Iran to follow the Union government's advisory and return home while commercial travel remains operational. In its latest advisory, the Embassy of India asked its citizens to "leave Iran by available means of transport, including commercial flights." The advisory comes in the wake of Saturday's protests in Iran following 40-day memorials for people killed in January during anti-government rallies. "I would tell them that please do not ignore this advisory from the government of India, because it otherwise becomes an issue for us," Abdullah told reporters in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir. The chief minister said the situation in Iran is currently stable, with airports open and commercial flights operating. "I appeal to all the students and those who work there, who do not ignore this advisory, book your tickets and leave Iran," he said. "The Ministry of External Affairs has not issued

Iran has signed a nearly €500 million deal with Russia to buy portable air-defence missiles, aiming to quickly rebuild its weakened air shield after last year's conflict damaged key defence systems

Probable successor to Khamenei: A former commander in the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the current head of the Supreme National Security Council

Iranian FM did not give specific timing for when Iran would deliver its counterproposal to Witkoff and Kushner but said a diplomatic deal could be achieved 'in a very short period of time'

The prospect of a war between the US and Iran has triggered a rise in oil prices, with Brent trading above $71 a barrel - near six-month highs - and on course for a 5% gain across the week

Escalating US-Iran tensions, rising crude prices and fears of FPI reversal dragged indices lower, with markets posting their steepest decline since February 1

The two sides will each draft and exchange texts for a deal before setting a date for a third round of talks, he said, cautioning that the next stage would be "more difficult and detailed"

Iran announced the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday for live fire military drills in a rare show of force as its negotiators held another round of indirect talks with the United States in Geneva over its disputed nuclear programme. It was the first time Iran has announced the closure of the key international waterway, through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes, since the US began threatening Iran and rushing military assets to the region. It marks a further escalation in a weekslong standoff that could ignite another war in the Middle East. As the talks began, Iran's state media announced that it had fired live missiles toward the Strait and would close it for several hours for "safety and maritime concerns." The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, said missiles launched inside Iran and along its coast had struck their targets in the Strait. Iranian state TV later said the talks had wrapped up after

Iranian state TV says the latest round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States ended after almost three hours. The negotiations held in Geneva came as Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz for live fire drills. The US and Iran were holding their second round of talks about Iran's nuclear programme on Tuesday in Geneva as Iran said it will close the Strait of Hormuz for several hours for live fire military exercises and the United States ramps up its military forces in the region.

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Coast Guard have apprehended two Iranian nationals with more than 200 kg of a chemical substance in the high seas off the Gujarat coast, an official said on Tuesday. The ATS received a tip-off regarding a suspected chemical being brought within Indian waters near the international maritime boundary line (IMBL), around 140 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast, ATS Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sunil Joshi said. In a joint operation with the Coast Guard lasting eight to 10 hours, two Iranian nationals were apprehended with 203 packets of suspected chemicals around 8 pm on Monday, he said. The suspected chemical substance was being bought on a speed boat, prima facie, from Iran, and was to be handed over to a person from Punjab, the official said. The speed boat was seized, and packets containing white powder were brought to the Porbandar coast guard station for further forensic analysis, he said. In April last year, the ATS and the

Iran and the United States held the previous rounds of nuclear talks in April 2025 in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy

Iran's top diplomat met with the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency on Monday, ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and said he would also meet with Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi of Oman, which is hosting the US-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday. "I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal," Araghchi wrote on X. "What is not on the table: submission before threats." Iran open to compromise in exchange for sanctions relief ------------------------------------------------------------ On Sunday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi signaled that Tehran could be open to compromise on the nuclear issue, but is looking for an easing of international sanctions led by the United States. "The ball is in America's court. They have to prove they want to have a deal w