Diyar Guldogan
17 February 2026•Update: 17 February 2026
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump said he will be involved "indirectly" in nuclear talks between the US and Iran that will be held in Geneva on Tuesday.
"I'll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they'll be very important," Trump told reporters Monday en route to Washington when asked what he is expecting from the second round of the indirect nuclear negotiations.
"We'll see what can happen," he added.
Under the announced schedule, the talks are set to begin Tuesday morning under Omani mediation and will be hosted at the Embassy of Oman in the Swiss city.
Trump said Iran is "a very tough" negotiator.
"But I would say they are bad negotiators, as we could have had a deal instead of sending out B-2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B-2s. I hope they are going to be more reasonable," he added, referring to the US stealth bombers that carried out the bombings on Iranian nuclear facilities during an escalation of the Iran–Israel conflict in June 2025.
Iran wants to make a deal, the president reiterated.
"I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal," he said.
Iran and the US resumed indirect nuclear diplomacy in Muscat on Feb. 6 under Omani mediation, nearly eight months after talks were suspended following an Israeli attack on Iran that sparked a 12-day war.
Assessments from both sides were positive following the latest round of talks, which took place amid heightened tensions due to a US military buildup in the Persian Gulf region.
Uranium enrichment remains a key point of contention. Iran demands the lifting of Western economic sanctions in exchange for restricting its nuclear activities. The US, meanwhile, has called on Iran to fully halt enrichment and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium abroad.
Washington has also sought to expand the scope of talks to include Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups in the region while Tehran has repeatedly said it will negotiate only on its nuclear program.
