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Iran Says US ‘More Realistic’ on Nuclear Issue, as Guards Begin Drills in Hormuz Strait

Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 16 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 16 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Says US ‘More Realistic’ on Nuclear Issue, as Guards Begin Drills in Hormuz Strait

Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 16 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians walk past an anti-US billboard at Enqelab Square in Tehran, Iran, 16 February 2026. (EPA)

Iran said on Monday that the United States' position on Iran's nuclear program "has moved towards a more realistic one", a day ahead of a second round of US-Iranian talks in Geneva. 

Tehran's foreign minister arrived in Geneva for the new round of indirect negotiations with the US, as the Revolutionary Guards began military drills in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for oil and gas. 

The two sides recently resumed indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran over a deadly crackdown on protesters last month. 

A previous attempt at negotiations collapsed when Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, beginning a 12-day war that Washington briefly joined to bomb Iranian nuclear sites. 

"A cautious assessment is that, from the discussions that have taken place in Muscat to date, at least what we have been told is that the US position on the Iranian nuclear issue has moved towards a more realistic one," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, the official IRNA news agency reported. 

According to Tehran, talks mediated by Oman will be held on Tuesday in Switzerland. 

Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed including Iran's ballistic missiles and support for armed groups in the region. 

The war games being conducted by the Guards, the ideological arm of the military, aim to prepare it for "potential security and military threats" in the strait, Iranian state TV said. 

Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a strategic waterway through which about 20 percent of global oil passes, as both sides ramp up pressure with talks set to resume. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Monday "we're hopeful there's a deal". 

"The president always prefers peaceful outcomes and negotiated outcomes to things." 

Meanwhile, Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, wrote on X that he was meeting in Geneva with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, "for deep technical discussion". 

Grossi later confirmed the meeting on X, calling the conversation with Araghchi "in-depth" ahead of Tuesday's "important negotiations". 

- Protest crackdown - 

Araghchi is also set to hold talks with his Swiss and Omani counterparts as well as other international officials, Iran's foreign ministry said. 

"I am in Geneva with real ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats," Araghchi added on X. 

Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday. 

The latest talks follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran, first over Iran's deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country's nuclear program. 

The West fears the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies. 

On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the "best thing that could happen", as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure. 

His remarks came before demonstrations outside Iran against its clerical authorities swept a number of cities including in the US over the weekend. 

Iranians inside the country have also defied the deadly crackdown on protests last month and continued to shout slogans against the authorities from their windows. 

- 'Viable' deal - 

Iran's deputy foreign minister told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions that have crippled the country's economy. 

"If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement," said Majid Takht-Ravanchi. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any deal must involve the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as well as Tehran's ability to enrich more. 

The whereabouts of Iran's stockpile of around 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent remains unknown, with inspectors having last seen it in June. 

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World

Earthquake Kills 8 Members of Same Family near Afghan Capital

Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
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Earthquake Kills 8 Members of Same Family near Afghan Capital

Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)
Previous earthquake in Afghanistan (Archive-Reuters)

An earthquake that struck Afghanistan overnight killed eight members of the same family in Kabul province, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8.42 pm (1612 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186 kilometers (115 miles) at the epicenter in northeastern Badakhshan province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Shaking was felt in multiple parts of the country, including the capital Kabul, according to AFP journalists.

"In the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul Province, eight members of a family died as a result of the earthquake," Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said in a message to media.

He added that a child aged around two years old was the only survivor from the household and the country's disaster management agency said the boy had been injured in the tremor.

Afghanistan is frequently jolted by earthquakes, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

In August, a shallow magnitude 6 earthquake wiped out mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people in eastern Afghanistan, making it the deadliest tremor in the country's recent history.

World

Ukrainian Drone and Missile Attack Kills at Least One in Southern Russia

Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
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Ukrainian Drone and Missile Attack Kills at Least One in Southern Russia

Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Rescue workers try to put out a fire caused by the fragments of a Russian drone that hit a private house during air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

A Ukrainian drone and missile attack on southern Russia killed at least one person, injured four others, and sparked a blaze aboard a foreign-flagged vessel, Russian officials said on Saturday.

Earlier, Yuri Slyusar, ‌governor of ‌the Rostov region, ‌said ⁠that one person was ⁠killed and four seriously injured in an air attack by Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Commercial infrastructure was also damaged during the missile attack on ⁠the city of Taganrog. ‌

A ‌fire broke out in the warehouse ‌premises of a logistics ‌company, and a commercial vessel was damaged and a fire broke out ‌as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack ⁠in ⁠the Sea of Azov, Slyusar said.
Samara Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said the Russian city of Togliatti was attacked by Ukrainian drones . It was not clear what was hit. Ukraine has previously targeted the TogliattiAzot chemical fertilizer producer.

World

2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
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2 US Aircraft Shot Down as War in Iran Escalates. At Least 1 Crew Member is Missing

Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)
Image circulating of American warplanes flying during the pilot rescue operation in western Iran (Social Media)

Iran shot down two US military planes in separate attacks Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing, in a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago.

It was the first time US aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the US has “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was “going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A US crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a US military search-and-rescue operation was underway, reported The Associated Press.

Neither the White House nor Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. In a brief telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to discuss the search-and-rescue efforts but said what happened would not affect negotiations with Iran.

“No, not at all. No, it’s war,” he said.

Separately, Iranian state media said a US A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Arabian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces.

A US official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation said earlier that it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it went down was immediately known.

Those incidents came as Iran fired on targets across the Middle East on Friday, keeping the pressure on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors despite US and Israeli insistence that Iran’s military capabilities have been all but destroyed.

Second service member's status unknown

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon released public information about the downed planes. But the Pentagon notified the House Armed Services Committee that the status of a second service member from the fighter jet was not known.

In an email from the Pentagon obtained by The Associated Press, meanwhile, the military said it received notification of “an aircraft being shot down” in the Middle East, without providing more details.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, have roiled stock markets, sent oil prices skyrocketing, and threatened to raise the cost of many basic goods, including food.

Downed jet could mark a new level of pressure on the US Prior to word of the rescue, social media footage showed American drones, aircraft and helicopters flying over the mountainous region where a TV channel affiliated with Iranian state television said earlier that at least one pilot bailed out of the fighter jet.

An anchor urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward.

It was the first time the US has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the conflict and could mark a new level of pressure on the US military.

Throughout the war, Iran has made a series of claims about shooting down piloted enemy aircraft that turned out not to be true. Friday was the first time that Iran went on television urging the public to look for a downed pilot.

Iranian state media said in a post on the social platform X that the military shot down a US F-15E Strike Eagle. The aircraft is a variation of the Air Force fighter jet that carries a pilot and weapons system officer.

Alan Diehl, a former investigator for the Air Force Safety Center, said the Strike Eagle has an emergency locator beacon in a survival kit that can be set to activate automatically or manually.

News about the downed planes came after Iran attacked Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery. The state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said firefighters were working to control several blazes.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched a ground invasion in its fight with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militant group, an Israeli drone strike on worshippers leaving Friday prayers near Beirut killed two people, according to the state‑run National News Agency

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began on Feb. 28 with US and Israeli strikes. In a review released Friday, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a US-based group, said it found that civilian casualties were clustered around strikes on security and state-linked sites “rather than indiscriminate bombardment” of urban areas.

More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 US service members have been killed.

More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.

Iran keeps a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

World leaders, meanwhile, have struggled to end Iran’s stranglehold on the waterway, which has had far-reaching consequences for the global economy and has proved to be its greatest strategic advantage in the war.

The UN Security Council was expected to take up the matter Saturday.

Trump has vacillated on America’s role in the strait, alternately threatening Iran if it does not open the strait and telling other nations to “go get your own oil.” On Friday he said in a post on social media that, “With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE.”

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, were around $109, up more than 50% since the start of the war, when Iran began restricting traffic through the strait.