Evening Edition

DEVELOPING: Iran Nuclear Talks End With "Progress" — But No Deal

Tuesday, February 17, 2026 Maya Sutton | Daily Brief Editor Standard International

The U.S. and Iran concluded their second round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva this morning with both sides claiming forward movement but framing it very differently. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media they reached "general agreement on some guiding principles" and that "a new window has opened" toward a potential deal. A U.S. official was more measured, saying "progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss." The Iranians will return in two weeks with detailed proposals to bridge remaining gaps.
Neither side announced an actual agreement. Iran says it's willing to discuss diluting its highly enriched uranium in exchange for sanctions relief but ruled out zero enrichment. The U.S. continues pressing for limits on Iran's missile program alongside nuclear restrictions. The talks happened while Iran conducted live-fire military drills in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. deployed a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region — suggesting both sides are negotiating with one hand while keeping the other on their weapons.

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What to Watch Today

Day 2 of Russia-Ukraine-U.S. Trilateral Talks Resume in Geneva After six hours of “tense” discussions today, the three delegations return to the table Wednesday morning. Watch for any shift in tone or whether Russia’s overnight bombing campaign signals they’re not actually negotiating in good faith. Also worth watching: whether European security advisers from France, Germany, Britain, and Italy — reportedly present in Geneva but on the sidelines — get brought into the room. https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/02/17/8021500/

Bottom Line

Geneva hosted a day of diplomatic theater — carefully worded statements about "progress" and "guiding principles" while aircraft carriers and missile batteries move into position. Meanwhile in Iran, people are dancing on graves. The regime that just killed 7,000 protesters is trying to control how families mourn, and families are responding by turning funerals into weddings. Sometimes the clearest signal of what's really happening isn't in the joint statements — it's in what people do when they think no one's watching.

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