Iran and the U.S. will hold a third round of nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on Sunday, amid growing concerns about the risk of military conflict between the longtime adversaries.

The U.S. has built up its military presence in the Middle East, with President Donald Trump warning on Thursday that “really bad things will happen” if no deal is reached to solve a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme, Reuters reported.

“Pleased to confirm U.S.-Iran negotiations are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal,” said Oman’s foreign minister, who acts as a mediator in indirect talks between Washington and Tehran.

Reuters reported on Sunday that Iran was offering fresh concessions on its nuclear programme in order to reach a deal, as long as it includes the lifting of economic sanctions and recognises Tehran’s right to “peaceful nuclear enrichment”.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian voiced cautious optimism on Sunday in a post on X saying recent negotiations had “yielded encouraging signals”, while pointing at Tehran’s readiness for “any potential scenario”.

TRUMP CURIOUS AS TO WHY TEHRAN HASN’T ‘CAPITULATED’

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads nuclear negotiations on the U.S. side, said on Saturday that the U.S. President was curious as to why Iran has not yet “capitulated” and agreed to curb its nuclear programme.

“I don’t want to use the word ‘frustrated,’ because he understands he has plenty of alternatives, but he’s curious as to why they haven’t… I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they haven’t capitulated,” Witkoff said during an interview with Fox News’ “My View with Lara Trump,” hosted by the president’s daughter-in-law.

“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of seapower and naval power over there, why haven’t they come to us and said, ‘We profess we don’t want a weapon, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’? And yet it’s sort of hard to get them to that place.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reacted in a post on X saying: “Curious to know why we do not capitulate? Because we are Iranian.”

He also said in an interview with CBS that a diplomatic solution with the U.S. was still within reach.

IRAN DENIES SEEKING NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Indirect talks last year did not bring any agreement, primarily due to friction over a U.S. demand that Iran forgo uranium enrichment on its soil, which Washington views as a pathway to a nuclear bomb. Iran has denied seeking such weapons.

The U.S. joined Israel in hitting Iranian nuclear sites in June, effectively curtailing Iran’s uranium enrichment, with Trump saying its key nuclear sites were “obliterated”. But Iran is still believed to possess stockpiles enriched previously, which Washington wants it to relinquish.

“They’ve been enriching well beyond the number that you need for civil nuclear. It’s up to 60% (fissile purity),” Witkoff said. “They’re probably a week away from having industrial, industrial-grade bomb-making material, and that’s really dangerous.”

Fresh concessions being considered by Iran include sending half of its highly enriched uranium abroad while diluting the rest.

Washington has also sought to expand the talks beyond the nuclear issue to cover Iran’s missile programme and its support for regional armed groups. Iran has publicly rejected this, although sources have told Reuters that unlike the missiles, support for armed groups may not be a red line for Tehran.

Another topic of friction is the scope and mechanism of lifting sanctions on Iran. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that Iran and the United States still have differing views.

Witkoff also said he has met at Trump’s direction with Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah ousted in Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. He did not provide further details of the meeting.

Pahlavi, who lives in exile, served as a rallying figure for some of Iran’s opposition during anti-government demonstrations last month in which thousands of people are believed to have been killed, the worst domestic unrest since the revolution era.

Earlier in February, Pahlavi said U.S. military intervention in Iran could save lives, and urged Washington not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country would not bow its head to pressure from world powers amid nuclear talks with the United States.

“World powers are lining up to force us to bow our heads… but we will not bow our heads despite all the problems that they are creating for us,” Pezeshkian said in a speech carried live by state TV, Reuters reported.

Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Saturday said U.S. military intervention in Iran could save lives and urged President Donald Trump’s administration not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran’s clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

The exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah told Reuters in an interview that there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink of collapse and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.
Pahlavi was speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where officials from the Iranian government are banned.

“It’s a matter of time. We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime’s downfall,” said Pahlavi, who is based in the United States and has lived outside Iran since before his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A campaign of mass arrests and intimidation has led to the arrests of thousands as Iranian authorities seek to deter further protests after last month’s crackdown on the bloodiest unrest since 1979.

The protests began on December 28 as a modest demonstration in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread nationwide.

Iran’s opposition is fragmented among rival groups and ideological factions – including the monarchists who back Pahlavi – and appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic.

In an interview with Reuters last month, Trump sounded skeptical about the level of Pahlavi’s support inside Iran.

The Trump administration has engaged with Iran to see if a nuclear deal can be struck as Washington amassed military forces in the region. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week and further talks in the coming week are expected.

“People are hoping that at some point the decision will be made that there’s no use, there’s no point, we’re not going to get anywhere with negotiations. Therefore, that’s time for the United States to intervene and do what President Trump promised he will do, to have the people’s back,” Pahlavi said.

“Intervention is a way to save lives,” he added.

On Friday, in a speech to U.S. troops in North Carolina, Trump said Iran has been difficult in nuclear negotiations and suggested that instilling fear in Tehran may be necessary to resolve the standoff peacefully.

Two U.S. officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. military was preparing for the possibility of a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran if Trump ordered an attack.