Overview
- The United States has assembled its largest Middle East military presence since 2003 around Iran, a move widely read as leverage for negotiations.
- Indirect negotiations in Geneva are scheduled for Thursday, with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi meeting a U.S. team led by envoy Steve Witkoff under Oman’s mediation.
- The U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on more than 30 individuals, entities and vessels accused of enabling illicit Iranian petroleum sales.
- Vice President J.D. Vance said Washington has evidence Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tehran is pursuing intercontinental-capable missiles.
- U.S. intelligence and the IAEA assess Iran is not currently building a nuclear weapon, but inspectors remain barred from three sites struck last June and analysts warn of future missile and enrichment pathways as Tehran rejects U.S. claims yet signals conditional openness to diplomacy.