U.S. and Iranian officials conducted one of their “most intense” rounds of negotiations in Geneva Thursday but failed to reach a deal amid an escalating row over nuclear capabilities.
“Further progress has been made in our diplomatic engagement with the United States,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “This round of talks was the most intense so far.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]
There is a “mutual understanding” that both parties will continue to engage in a more “detailed manner,” he added.
The U.S. delegation, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has yet to release a statement on the status of the negotiations.
TIME has reached out to the White House for comment.
The risk of conflict emerging between the two sides remains, with the U.S. having spent recent weeks building up its military presence in the Middle East region amid heightened tensions.
Ahead of the talks Thursday, Araghchi warned that any conflict between the two would likely result in a “devastating war.”
“Since the Americans’ bases are scattered in different places of the region, then unfortunately, perhaps, the whole region would be engaged,” he said. “Of course we are prepared. We are prepared for both options—war and peace.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has also said the U.S. is prepared to take military action, if certain requirements aren’t met, referencing last year’s U.S. strikes on three key Iranian nuclear sites as a warning.
During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Trump accused Iran of restarting “sinister ambitions” related to nuclear weaponry and appeared to indicate that the U.S. would consider taking military action if Tehran did not abandon said ambitions. He claimed Iran was working to “build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
Iran swiftly rejected those claims, accusing Trump of pushing “big lies” over its nuclear program and the January uprising against the Iranian regime, which saw security forces kill, by some estimates, tens of thousands of protesters.
Trump, in his speech, said Iran had “killed at least 32,000 protesters in their own country—they shot a lot of them and hung them.” Iranian officials issued a rebuke of the quoted figures.
In late January, local health officials told TIME that the protest death toll could top 30,000. TIME has been unable to independently verify these figures.
On Friday, U.N. high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said “the situation in Iran remains volatile” and cited concerns that more Iranians face execution over protests.
“I am horrified by reports that at least eight people, including two children, have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests. Another 30 are reportedly at risk of the same sentence,” he said, urging for “independent, impartial, and transparent investigations, fair trial guarantees, and an immediate moratorium on the death penalty.”
“I am extremely alarmed about the potential for regional military escalation and its impact on civilians,” he added. “I hope the voice of reason prevails.”
The stumbling blocks at the heart of the U.S.-Iran standoff
Conversations around nuclear capabilities and the termination of U.S. sanctions on Iran remain the key focus points moving forward, according to Araghchi.
Of the nuclear row, Elyas Hazrati, head of the Iranian Government Information Council, said: “Enrichment will continue in accordance with needs, and nothing will leave Iran; other options, including dilution, remain on the table.”
Enriched uranium can be used as fuel in power plants, but at high levels it can also be used to make nuclear weapons. The U.S. is demanding conclusive guarantees on uranium enrichment from Iran and inspections that enable Washington to check Tehran isn’t building a nuclear weapon. Iran has strenuously denied ever seeking nuclear weapons.
But for the U.S., as indicated in Trump’s State of the Union address, fears over such weaponry remain.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated those concerns Wednesday, saying: “It’s also important to remember that Iran refuses to talk about ballistic missiles to us or to anyone, and that’s a big problem.”
Araghchi said after the Thursday talks that “nuclear-related steps” are essential to any deal and will be discussed more moving forward.
He also cited the importance of the terminations of sanctions.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. announced expansionary sanctions targeting Iranian-linked entities and shadow fleets.
“The Iranian regime continues to mismanage its economy, with catastrophic consequences for its people, and prioritizes funding of foreign proxies and missiles over the basic needs of ordinary Iranians,” read a Feb. 25 statement from the U.S. State Department. “Today’s sanctions target the illicit funds that the regime uses to advance its malign and destabilizing ends.”
Iran has pushed back against the additional measures.
What happens next?
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi, operating in a mediatory capacity, said after the conclusion of talks that both sides would return to consult with their respective capitals and that “discussions on a technical level” would take place next week in Vienna.
Of the technical teams—the experts tasked with working out the operational aspects of the agreement —Araghchi said their mission is as “critical as ours” when it comes to determining a future deal framework.
But all teams involved are working to a tight deadline, it would seem, as Trump warned on Feb. 19 that Iran must reach a deal within 10 to 15 days, or else “really bad things” would happen.