- By Priyanka Koul
- Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:16 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Iran-US Tensions: The United States and Iran will convene in Geneva on Thursday for their third round of nuclear negotiations this year. Yet the diplomatic tone has changed following President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, which has pushed fresh tension into the process. “They’re starting it all over,” Trump declared, repeating his insistence that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” and cautioning that it would be a “very bad day” should the talks fail to produce an agreement.
During his speech, Trump accused Tehran of reviving its nuclear activities, restoring missile capabilities and continuing destabilising conduct across the Middle East remarks that have raised the stakes ahead of the Geneva meeting.
"They've already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America," Trump said. "They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons programme, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue. They're starting it all over."
He further claimed that, despite last year’s US strikes which he said had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran was attempting to rebuild them.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also responded, saying Iran was “always trying to rebuild elements” of its nuclear programme, even if it was not currently enriching uranium. He further identified Tehran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile arsenal as a “big problem”.
Iran Responds To Trump's Claim
Iran responded on Wednesday by dismissing the US president’s comments as "big lies" and maintaining that negotiations could still succeed through "honourable diplomacy".
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei likened Trump to Joseph Goebbels, the propaganda minister of Adolf Hitler. He accused Trump and his administration of waging a "disinformation & misinformation campaign" against Iran.
"Whatever they're alleging regarding Iran's nuclear programme, Iran's ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January's unrest is simply the repetition of big lies," Baghaei wrote on X.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, said Tehran was seeking a “fair and swift” agreement and reaffirmed that Iran would not forfeit its right to peaceful nuclear technology. According to Iranian media, he also raised the issue of lifting what Tehran describes as “illegal and unilateral” US sanctions.
Meanwhile, Trump stated in his speech that at least 32,000 people had been killed during the protests. By contrast, Iran’s government, which has previously downplayed casualty figures in other unrest, issued its only official toll on January 21, claiming that 3,117 people had been killed.
Earlier satellite imagery analysed by the Associated Press indicated that Iran had begun reconstructing its missile production facilities and carrying out work at the three nuclear sites targeted by US strikes in June. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful. Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency assert that Iran operated a nuclear weapons programme until 2003. Prior to the June strikes, Iran had enriched uranium to 60 per cent purity, a short technical step from weapons grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the Associated Press.
As Iran and the US are set to meet on Thursday in Geneva for their third round of talks, mediated by Oman, which has long served as an intermediary between Tehran and Western governments. Should the negotiations fail, uncertainty remains over the timing, scope and objectives of any potential military action.