Iran is slowly closing the Strait of Hormuz as it resumes indirect nuclear talks with the US
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Iran’s supreme leader warned on Tuesday that US efforts to oust his government would fail, as Washington and Tehran began indirect talks in Geneva on their nuclear standoff amid a US military build-up in the Middle East.
Just hours after the talks began, Iran’s official Fars news agency reported that parts of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would be closed for several hours due to “security measures” while Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards conducted military exercises along the world’s most important oil export route.
Tehran has previously threatened to block commercial shipping if attacked, a move that would halt a fifth of global oil flows and drive up crude prices.
The US, which joined Israel in bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, has sent troops to the region and US President Donald Trump has said “regime change” in Iran may be the best thing that can happen.
US Ambassador Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner took part in the talks, which were mediated by Oman, a source told Reuters, along with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Trump has said he will be “indirectly” involved in the Geneva talks and believes Tehran wants to make a deal.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Monday. “We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s to take out their nuclear power. And we should have sent the B-2s.”
Shortly after the talks began, Iranian media quoted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that Washington cannot coerce his government. The republic has been ruled by clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“The US president says that their army is the strongest in the world, but the strongest army in the world can sometimes be slapped and unable to stand up,” he said in comments published by Iranian media.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that the success of the Geneva talks depended on the US not making unreasonable demands and being reluctant to lift crippling economic sanctions on Iran.
US B-2 bombers attack nuclear weapons
Tehran and Washington were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks in June last year when Washington’s ally Israel began a bombing campaign against Iran, and was joined by US B-2 nuclear-powered bombers. Tehran has since said it has halted uranium enrichment.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that Tehran’s views on the nuclear issue, the lifting of sanctions and the framework of any understanding have been conveyed to the American side.
The meeting was held at the residence of the Omani ambassador to the United Nations amid tight security. Some cars with Iranian diplomatic license plates were visible outside.
The U.S. military is preparing for what could be weeks of operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters.
Discussions come under the shadow of protests, war
Washington and its close ally Israel believe that Iran wishes to develop a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel’s existence. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, although it has enriched uranium beyond the purity needed to generate electricity, and close to what is needed to detonate a bomb.
Since the June strikes, Iran’s Islamist rulers have been weakened by street protests, at the expense of thousands of people, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have choked Iran’s oil income.
Iran has joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which guarantees countries the right to pursue illegal nuclear energy by requiring them to give up their atomic weapons and cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran’s foreign minister called the first round of informal talks with US officials on Iran’s nuclear program a ‘good start.’ But neighboring countries continue to worry about a US military strike that could spark a regional war.
Israel, which has not signed the NPT, neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons, under a decades-long policy of ambiguity designed to deter surrounding adversaries.
Scientists believe it is, since they discovered the first bomb in 1966. Israeli journalists, who have gained military experience, often refer to such skills in secret or quote foreign media reporting on them.
Washington has sought to broaden the scope of talks on non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile development. Tehran says it is only willing to discuss ways to curb its nuclear program – in order to get sanctions lifted – and that it will not completely stop enriching uranium or discuss its missile programme.
