File photo of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghi. | Photo credit: AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghi arrived in Geneva for a second round of nuclear talks with the US and technical talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, with Washington sending a second aircraft carrier to the region and threatening to force the Islamic Republic if diplomacy fails.
As the US and Iran are expected to hold Oman-mediated talks in the Swiss city on Tuesday (Feb 17, 2026), naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) began military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint linking the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea.
“I am in Geneva with genuine ideas to achieve a fair and equitable deal. What is not on the table: submission before threats,” said Mr. Aaraghchi wrote in a social media post. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday that Mr. Said to have held “in-depth technical discussions” with Aragchi.
Iran cut off IAEA access to its key nuclear facilities in June 2025 after Israel and the US bombed it.
Mr. Araghchi met US President Donald Trump’s West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff and other officials for nuclear talks in Oman’s capital Muscat on February 6 and agreed to continue talks. Last week, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in an interview that Iran was willing to compromise for the nuclear deal if the US was “honest.”
Meanwhile, the IRGC on Monday launched “live-fire intensive drills” under the supervision of Chief Commander Major General Mohammad Pakpour under the name of ‘Smart Control of Hormuz Strait’. State-run Press TV reported that the drills were aimed at testing the readiness of operational units of the IRGC Navy and reviewing support programs and scenarios in the context of “possible security and military threats” in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “The rapid, decisive and comprehensive response of the operational forces of the IRGC in the face of anti-security plots in the maritime sector is central to the operational exercises of the units participating in the drill,” it said.
This is the second military exercise by the IRGC navy since tensions between Iran and the US began to rise last month. Earlier this month, the US shot down an Iranian drone that the US Navy said was approaching the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea. Along with the Lincoln, the US has deployed F35 fighter jets, battleships, destroyers and fuel tankers to the region. Mr Trump also said a second aircraft carrier would arrive in West Asian waters “soon”.
On Sunday, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said any US military action would be met with retaliatory strikes. “Trump must know that he will enter into a confrontation that teaches hard lessons, the result of which will ensure that he no longer threatens the world,” General Mousavi said.
Published – February 16, 2026 10:05 pm IST
