Geneva, Feb 26 (.) Resuming negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, US and Iranian officials met in Geneva for nuclear talks on Thursday, hours after an official address by the US govt, where officials called any Iranian possession of nuclear weapons an extremely dangerous prospect for Washington.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, talking to reporters on Wednesday, said that Tehran was actively working to repair its nuclear sites that were damaged by US and Israeli airstrikes during the brief 12-day war last June.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during a trip to St. Kitts and Nevis, Rubio accused Iran of continuing to pursue nuclear weaponisation and further called its ballistic missiles programme a major threat to US assets in the region.
“After their nuclear programme was obliterated, they were told not to try to restart it, and here they are,” Rubio said.
“You can see them always trying to rebuild elements of it. They’re not enriching [uranium] right now, but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
Rubio further remarked that Iran had a massive arsenal of ballistic missiles, which not only threaten US interests in the region but could also become a direct security threat for Washington, as Tehran was actively trying to develop missiles that can target the US mainland.
“Beyond just the nuclear programme, they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans if they so choose to do so… They already possess weapons that can reach much of Europe already now, as we speak,” Rubio claimed.
Terming Tehran’s insistence on not discussing the topic of ballistic missiles in the Geneva talks a “big, big problem,” Rubio said he did not want to leave the end result of the Thursday as little more than being providing the base for “the next opportunity” for bilateral talks, but rather hoped to characterise it as one, marked by some actual practical progress.
“Hopefully they’re productive but eventually we’ll have to have conversations more than just the nuclear programme,” he said.
However, despite stressing on holding constructive talks with practical effects, Rubio declined to answer whether the Geneva summit would amount to a final definitive moment in bilateral talks, which would ultimately decide whether or not, Washington goes to war with Tehran.
“The president wants diplomatic solutions. He prefers them greatly,” he said.
Asked about a potential strike on Iran, Rubio said, “The president hasn’t decided on that, so I don’t know if Thursday’s the key date for that. I think progress needs to be made.”
Iran is said to contain the largest stockpile of ballistic missiles in West Asia, despite being significantly depleted during the 12-day war, according to the findings of the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Islamic Republic’s missiles possess a self-imposed range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), which officials in the past said was enough to protect the country since it covers the distance to Israel.
Vance had confirmed that White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be heading the American delegation to the Thursday talks to assess whether reaching a mutually agreeable settlement was at all possible.
“The principle is very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters, clarifying the US stance. “If they try to rebuild a nuclear weapon, that causes problems for us. In fact, we’ve seen evidence that they have tried to do exactly that.”
Stating that President Donald Trump wished to address the Iranian nuclear program “diplomatically,” he said that in the event should diplomacy fail, “the president has other options as well,” implying towards a take it or leave it situation.
Despite Vance and Rubio’s claims echoing the same remarks which Trump made in his State of the union address Tuesday night, the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, citing experts and diplomats, said that Iran has not made any particularly significant advances on its atomic programme following the US strikes last June.
Additionally, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday reiterated that his country was not seeking a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned weapons of mass destruction, which “clearly means Tehran won’t develop nuclear weapons,” Pezeshkian said.
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