Iran upbeat after U.S. talks but Vance says 'red lines' not met

Iran expresses optimism after U.S. talks, yet Vance warns that critical red lines remain unaddressed.

Iran said Tuesday (February 17, 2026) it had agreed with the United States in talks in Geneva on "guiding principles" for a deal to avoid conflict, but Vice-President J.D. Vance said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's red lines.

The Omani-mediated talks were aimed at averting the possibility of U.S. military intervention to curb Iran's nuclear programme, weeks after the cleric-run state killed thousands of people as it crushed mass demonstrations.

Iran's Supreme leader had warned earlier in the day that the country had the ability to sink a U.S. warship recently deployed to the region, after President Donald Trump alluded to "consequences" should the two sides fail to strike a deal.

"Ultimately, we were able to reach broad agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will move forward and begin working on the text of a potential agreement," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told State television after Tuesday's talks, which he described as "more constructive" than the previous round earlier this month.

He added that once both sides had come up with draft texts for an agreement, "the drafts would be exchanged and a date for a third round (of talks) would be set".

In Washington, Mr. Vance also appeared to indicate that the United States preferred diplomacy but painted a more mixed picture.